0? 


CP 


Life  and  Adventures 


SAM  BASS 

Cfhe  Notorious  Union  Pacific  and  Texas 

!■!■■■■■  ■ ■■  ■'  ■ ' ■■  '■  — ..W  ■— 

Train  Robber 


Together  With 


A Graphic  Account  of  His  Capture  and  Death— 
Sketch  of  the  Members  of  His  Band,  With 
Thrilling  Pen  Pictures  of  Their  Many  Bold  and 
Desperate  Deeds,  and  the  Capture  and  Death 
of  Collins,  Berry,  Barnes,  and  Arkansas  Johnson. 


Dallas,  Texas 

Dallas  Commercial  Steam  Print, 
1878 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1878,  by 
W.  L.  HALL  & COMPANY, 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


15 

B ifllU 


CHAPTER  I 


n 


EARLY  LIFE  OF  BASS. 

Hoosier  Boy. — Out  in  the  World. — Down  the  Mississippi. — Rapid 
Progress  in  Dissipation. — Arrival  in  the  Lone  Star  State. 

•»> 

Sam  Bass  was  born  July  21st,  1851,  in  Lawrence  county,  In- 
diana, on  a farm  two  miles  north  of  Mitchell.  He  was  the  son  of 
^5"  Daniel  Bass,  who  in  1840  had  married  Elizabeth  J.  Sheeks  and 
settled  upon  a farm,  where  by  industry  and  economy  he  acquired 
a competency.  They  had  ten  children,  the  two  oldest  of  whom 
died  in  infancy.  The  third  son,  Geo.  W.  Bass,  enlisted  in  the  16th 
regiment  Indiana  volunteers  and  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Rich- 
mond, Ky.,  August  30th,  1862.  The  rest  of  the  children,  with  the 
exception  of  the  wayward  subject  of  this  sketch,  are  still  living  in 
Lawrence  and  Martin  counties,  Indiana.  Their  names  are  John, 
Denton  and  Sallie  Bass,  Euphema  Beasley,  Mary  Hersey  and  Cla- 
rissa Hersey,  “all  doing  well,”  so  the  chronicles  state,  “and  highly 
respectable.” 

In  1861  Bass  lost  his  mother,  but  a few  months  after  his  fa- 
ther made  haste  to  supply  the  loss  by  marrying  “a  pious  young 
widow  and  devoted  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church.”  This  union 
seems  to  have  been  attended  by  excellent  results,  as  we  are  in- 
formed that  soon  after  the  marriage  “Daniel  Bass  joined  the  M.  E. 
Church  and  was  a praying  Methodist  up  to  the  time  of  his  death 
which  occurred  February  20th,  1864.”  One  child  was  born  from 
this  last  marriage,  Charles  Bass,  who  now  lives  at  Kansas  City, 
Missouri. 

After  the  death  of  the  elder  Bass,  Daniel  L.  Sheeks,  an  uncle 
of  the  heirs,  took  charge  of  the  estate  and  the  children.  Mr. 
Sheeks,  being  one  of  the  largest,  and  most  respectable  farm^ 
ers  in  the  country,  trained  the  children  up  to  the  habits  of  industry 
and  gave  them  all  the  advantages  of  education  and  improvement 
conferred  upon  his  own  children.  But  as  Bass  could  not  read  and 
could  barely  sign  his  name,  these  advantages  could  not  have  been 
great. 

There  seems  to  be  no  question  that  the  Bass  and  Sheeks  fami- 
lies were  highly  respectable  and  had  the  esteem  of  all  the  people 
with  whom  they  lived. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  death  of  his  father  and  for  two  or  three 
year  afterward,  young  Bass  maintained  an  excellent  character, 
but  after  that  he  began  to  associate  with  bad  companions  and  soon 
acquired  evil  habits. 


4 


Life  and  Adventures 


In  1869,  tired  of  the  restraints  of  his  guardian  or  longing  to  see 
more  of  the  world,  he  left  his  Ho  osier  home  and  went  to  St.  Louis, 
a very  bad  place  to  go  to  at  any  time,  as  everybody  in  Chicago 
would  testify,  even  upon  oath.  But  the  great  city  had  but  few  at- 
tractions for  the  country  boy,  and  hence  he  took  passage  on  a 
steam-boat  and  floated  down  the  Mississippi,  landing  at  Rosedale, 
Mississippi.  Here  the  young  adventurer  remained  a year,  work- 
ing at  Charles’  Mill  and  forming  bad  habits  with  reckless  rapidity. 
It  is  said  that  he  became  an  expert  at  card  playing  and  revolver 
shooting  and  was  noted  for  his  dissipation. 

In  1870  he  bundled  together  his  little  effects  again  and  left 
for  the  Lone  Star  State,  arriving  at  Denton  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  year.  His  advent  in  the  Empire  State  seems  to  have  had  a 
subduing  effect  upon  his  mind,  for  he  at  once  sought  employment 
and  began  a sober,  industrious  life.  His  first  engagement  was  with 
Mrs.  Lacy,  proprietress  of  the  Lacy  House  in  Denton.  He  con- 
tinued in  her  employ  about  a year  and  a half,  giving  entire  satis- 
fction  and  greatly  endearing  himself  to  the  good  lady  of  the 
house  by  his  kind  and  obliging  disposition  and  his  excellent  con- 
duct. 

He  was  next  employed  by  a man  named  Wilkes,  and  shortly 
after  this  by  Sheriff  W.  F.  Eagan,  with  whom  he  remained  until 
the  beginning  of  his  downward  career.  Sheriff  Eagan  speaks  of 
him  as  a very  sober  and  industrious  young  man.  He  frequently 
entrusted  him  with  considerable  sums  of  money  to  go  to  Dallas 
and  other  neighboring  places  to  purchase  lumber  and  supplies. 
His  habits  of  economy  were  so  great  that  his  employer  found 
fault  with  h'm  for  starving  himself  and  team.  He  never  would 
wear  a suit  of  clothes  that  cost  more  than  five  dollars.  In  all  his 
service  he  was  very  much  devoted  to  his  employer’s  interests.  He 
was  also  retired  and  quiet  in  his  disposition,  never  was  absent  from 
home  in  the  evening  or  away  on  the  Sabbath  unless  sent  upon  an 
errand.  His  only  companion  was  a little  boy,  who  taught  him  to 
write  and  assisted  him  in  his  efforts  to  make  a man  of  himself. 

But  unfortunately  for  himself,  on  an  evil  day  in  1874  he  be- 
came the  owner  of  a “little  sorrel  mare.”  This  was  the  beginning 
of  a downward  career,  which  has  made  Bass  one  of  the  most  noted 
criminals  of  this  or  any  age1;  for  the  mare  proved  to  be  fast  and 
Bass  soon  became  faster  than  the  mare.  After  he  had  run  a few 
races  around  Denton  his  employer  saw  that  driving  a team  and 
running  races  would  not  go  together.  Hence  he  told  Bass  that 
he  must  take  his  choice  between  the  race  mare  and  the  team. 
Bass  at  once  concluded  to  keep  the  mare  and  abandoned  the  em- 
ployment in  which  he  had  been  industriously  and  respectively  en- 
gaged for  four  years.  This  was  in  1875,  and  from  that  time  on  he 


of  Sam  Bass 


5 


gave  himself  up  to  a life  of  'dissipation.  Soon  afterwards  he  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Henry  Underwood,  who  became  his  boon  com- 
panion, and  later  was  one  of  the  most  noted  of  his  gang. 

His  evenings  were  spent  at  saloons,  all  business  was  neglected 
and  he  was  constantly  with  wild,  reckless  fellows.  His  neighbors 
say  that  he  became  wholly  unlike  himself.  This  remark  explains 
much  of  his  career;  for  he  evidently  had  one  of  those1  head-strong 
earnest  natures  which  do  nothing  by  halves.  Whatever  he  did 
was  done  with  all  his  might.  As  a boy  at  cards  he  became  the 
most  skillful  of  all  his  companions;  as  an  employe  he  was  faithful 
to  h s employer;  as  a bandit  he  outstripped  all  the  daring  charac- 
ters who  have  wrought  deeds  of  violence  upon  Texas  soil. 

It  is  said  that  when  he  was  but  nine  years  of  age  he  witnessed 
a noted  criminal  trial  at  his  home  in  Indiana.  It  apparently  made 
a great  impression  on  his  mind  and  may  have  excited  an  evil  pas- 
sion for  notoriety,  even  if  it  was  infamous;  at  all  events  he  is  said 
to  have  remarked  one  day  in  Denton,  when  seeing  some  horse 
thieves  sent  to  the  penitentiary,  that  when  “he  committed  a crime 
it  would  amount  to  something.  He  would  never  be  sent  to  the 
penitentiary  for  so  small  a thing  as  stealing  a horse.” 


6 


Life  and  Adventures 


CHAPTER  II 

FATAL  MISTAKE 

Working  on  a Farm — Horse  Racing — Beating  the  Indians — 
Texas  Cowboy. 

It  was  in  March,  1875,  that  Bass  left  the  employ  of  Sheriff 
Eagan.  After  horse  racing,  gambling  and  dissipating  for  some  time 
in  and  around  Denton,  he  went  to  Fort  Sill,  accompanied  by  five 
or  six  companions.  He  was  absent  on  this  trip  two  or  three 
months,  but  what  transpired  during  the  time,  is  not  known,  though 
it  is  not  believed  that  he  carried  his  dissipation  beyond  horse  rac- 
ing and  other  forms  of  gambling. 

When  next  heard  of  he  was  in  the  Indian  Territory,  that 
beautiful  paradise  of  nature,  the  government’s  home  for  civilized 
Indians  and  the  hiding  place  of  uncivilized  white  men. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  these  races,  like  the  great  Ten 
Broeck-McCarty  fiasco,  drew  ail  the  governors,  senators,  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  and  other  people  in  the  whole  region  round 
about,  nor  is  there  any  record  of  a heavy  gate  fee  for  the  privilege 
of  a grand  sell.  But  in  spite,  of  his  rudeness  the  red-skinned  racer 
is  up  to  the  tricks  of  the  profession  and  has  no  trouble  with  a 
superabundance  of  honest  scruples. 

Bass  found  it  easy  enough  to  beat  their  scrubby  little  courers 
with  his  sorrel  mare.  But  how  to  get  possession  of  the  ponies  he 
had  won  was  a much  more  difficult  matter.  It  was  in  vain  that  he 
reasoned,  cursed  and  threatened.  They  were  not  playing  a losing 
game,  they  had  the  ponies  and  meant  to  keep  them.  But  Bass 
was  equally  determined  to  have  what  the  mare  won.  Therefore 
when  night  came  he  took  all  the  ponies  he  had  won  and  as  many 
more  as  he  could  get  his  hands  on  and  started  for  Texas.  This  is 
the  first  act  of  robbery  recorded  in  his  career.  The  ponies  were 
driven  across  the  State  toward  San  Antonio,  where.  Bass  arrived 
in  the  latter  part  of -,75,  or  early  in  ’78. 

Here  horse  racing  and  gambling  were  resumed,  the  sorrel 
mare  still  doing  the  honors  of  the  course.  But  shortly  afterwards 
this  fatal  piece  of  horse  flesh,  which  had  so  rapidly  carried  her 
owner  down  the  course  of  ruin,  was  sold.  Bass  remained  in  and 
about  San  Antonio  during  the  summer,  but  nothing  of  note  oc- 
curred until  about  August  1st,  when  he  joined  Joel  Collins,  after- 
wards leader  of  the  gang  which  robbed  the  Union  Pacific  train,  in 
gathering  up  a drove  of  cattle  for  the  Northern  market.  The 
nucleus,,  at  least,  of  the  drove  was  purchased,  but  how  many 
mavericks,  old  or  young,  with  or  without  brands,  voluntarily  or 
otherwise,  slipped  into  the  drove  as  it  moved  across  the  country, 


of  Sam  Bass 


7 


no  one  can  tell.  But  very  loose  notions  on  such  points  prevail  in 
the  stock  ranges,  and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Collins  and 
Bass  played  a puritanical  part  as  they  followed  their  herd  across 
the  wide  prairies. 

The  cowboy  is  a sui  generis  of  the  Southwest.  Usually  he 
is  tall  and  slim,  with  sunburnt  face,  keen  glittering  eye  and  hand- 
some moustache.  His  dress  is  of  the  simplest  kind.  A half  acre  of 
hat,  more  or  less,  covers  his  head.  His  feet  are  enclosed  in  a 
heavy  pair  of  cow-hide  boots,  at  the  heels  of  which  are  a pair  of 
clanking,  clattering  spurs,  and  in  the  tops  he  stows  away  the  sur- 
plus ends  of  his  pantaloons.  His  shirt  is  a flannel  or  calico  and 
abhors  mansard  collars,  and  other  “neck  fixins.”  He  rides  a tough 
little  animal  called  a Texas  or  Mexican  pony,  which  he  purchases 
for  fifteen  or  twenty-five  dollars.  It  can  stand  more  riding  and 
less  feeding  than  almost  any  kind  of  horse  living.  At  his  saddle  is 
strapped  a Sharp’s  or  Wincester  rifle,  and  at  either  hip  is  a six 
shooter,  while  around  his  waist  is  a belt  filled  with  cartridges.  In- 
tervening space  is  filled  up  with  daggers,  bottles  or  whiskey  and 
plugs  of  tobacco. 

Wlhen  on  the  drive  he  stops  wherever  night  overtakes  him, 
sleeping  as  sweetly  with  his  body  stretched  upon  the  greensward, 
his  head  upon  his  saddle  and  the  glittering  stars  above,  as  if  tuck- 
ed away  in  the  softest  bed.  He.  always  stops  at  “the  store,”  takes 
a drink,  buys  some  more  tobacco  and  replenishes  his  bottle. 

When  he  arrives  in  a town  or  city,  if  he  is  flush,  he  always 
finds  his  way  to  a gambling  saloon,  where  he  plays  more  recklessly 
than  successfully,  or  to  a house  of  prostitution,  where  he  falls  an 
easy  victim  to  the  blandishments  of  some  fair  enchantress,  and  usu- 
ally retires  heavy  in  head  and  light  in  pocket. 

But  with  all  his  weakness,  he  has  some  of  the  best  qualities 
of  manhood.  He  is  generous,  brave,  and  faithful  to  his  friends,  sel- 
fishness and  small  meanness  find  but  little  place  in  his  everyday  life. 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  as  a cowboy,  Bass  snugly  filled  out 
the  proportions  of  the  type. 

But  not  to  make  a further  disgression,  we  find  that  the  drovers 
arrived  in  Kansas  some  time  during  the  fall.  Here  they  sent  their 
cattle  on  to  Sidney,  Nebraska,  while  they  took  the  cars  for  the 
same  place.  It  is  said,  by  detectives  that  his  was  done  because 
the  ownership  of  some  of  the  cattle  was  a disputed  question,  and 
that  they  were  afraid  at  that  time  and  place  to  be  seen  with  them. 
But  it  is  quite  probable  that  they  were  tired  of  the  drive  and  took 
this  method  of  obtaining  a rest. 

At  Sidney  they  met  the  herd  and  drove  it  from  there  to  the 
Black  Hills,  where  it  was  disposed  of. 

This  ended  the  cattle  business  and  introduces  us  to  another 
phase  of  the  bandit’s  career. 


8 


Life  and  Adventures 


CHAPTER  III 

LIFE  IN  THE  BLACK  HILLS 

On  the  Road — Keeping  a Dance  House  in  Deadwood — Deadwood 
Society — Belles  of  the  Town — Kitty  Leroy,  the  Danseuse — Her 
Tragical  Death — “The  World  by  the  Tail,  With  a Down  Hill  Pull” 
—The  “Tail  Holt”  Slips  , 

After  disposing  of  the  herd  of  cattle,  Bass  and  Collins  purchased 
two  four-horse  teams,  and  began  freighting  between  Dodge  City, 
Yankton  and  the  Black  Hills.  In  this  business  they  continued  until 
January,  1877,  when  they  sold  out  and  opened  a gambling  saloon  and 
house  of  prostitution  in  Deadwood. 

There  is  nothing  puritanical  or  bigoted  about  Deadwood  society.. 
The  widest  latitude  of  opinion  and  practice  is  allowed  on  all — moral 
questions.  The  conscience  is  not  harassed  with  scruples  and  no  pru- 
dential considerations  harness  the  passions.  Nobody  seems  to  have 
the  slightest  lecollection  of  a father’s  solemn  admonitions  or  a moth- 
er’s prayers.  Religious  teaching  is  a withered  tradition,  tossed  among 
the  other  rubbish  of  abandoned  sobriety.  Sunday  is  no  better  than 
any  other  day,  and  every  other  day  is  as  bad  as  it  can  be,  but  night 
is  still  worse. 

Every  man  who  goes  to  Deadwood  is  shadowed  by  the  presentiment 
that  he  will  either  be  shot  or  that  the  mad  fever  in  his  blood  will 
break  out  in  the  slaughter  of  somebody  else.  When  he  arrives  in 
the  city  he  needs  no  introduction,  but  to  hang  out  his  revolvers,  call 
for  a drink  and  lay  down  a greasy  pack  of  cards.  He  is  asked  his 
name,  for  convenience  sake,  but  nobody  thinks  of  inquiring  where 
he  came  from,  why  he  left  or  what  his  name  was  before  he  left. 

Most  of  the  houses  are  saloons.  The  rest  are  theatres,  faro 
banks  and  dance  houses.  Prostitution  is  not  confined  to  special 
quarters  but  has  full  sweep  of  the  range.  Only  respectability  and 
virtue  are  crowded  into  corners.  , 

The  queens  of  society  are  the  most  brilliant  of  the  demimonde. 
The  further  they  have  fled  from  the  modesty  of  their  sex,  the  more 
dashing  and  daring  they  are,  the  more  recklessly  they  can  handle  a 
revolver  and  the  straighter  they  can  throw  a dagger;  the  more  men 
rave  over  them  and  the  more  ready  they  are  to  kill  or  be  killed  for 
their  sake. 

To  show  that  this  picture  of  Deadwood  society  is  not  overdrawn, 
and  to  present  a fair  type  of  the  leaders  of  the  sex,  we  give  below  a 
description  of  one  of  the  queens  who  reigned  in  the  height  of  her 


of  Sam  Bass 


9 


i 


glory  at  the  time  Bass  and  Collins  kept  the  dance  house.  This  was 
Kitty  Leroy,  a woman  who  has  been  much  written  about  and  whose 
tragical  fate  shortly  after  this  sent  her  name  throughout  the  press 
of  the  country.  A Black  Hills  letter  speaks  of  her  thus: 

Kitty  LeRoy,  who  was  killed  by  her  husband  only  a short  time  ago, 
who  then  killed  himself,  was  a small  figure,  and  had  previously  been 
noted  us  a jig-dancer.  She  had  a large  Roman  nose,  cold,  grey  eyes, 
a low,  cunning  forehead,  and  was  inordinately  fond  of  money.,  I 
saw  her  often  in  her  “Mint,”  which  was  opposite  my  office,  where 
men  congregated  to  squander  their  money;  and  as  Kitty  was  a good 
player,  like  the  old  grave-digger,  “she  gathered  them  in!”  that  is, 
their  money.  Men  are,  in  a general  sense,  fools.  A small  tress  of 
golden  hair,  or  a bright  eye  or  soft  cheek  will  precipitate  them  into 
an  ocean  of  folly,  and  women  of  the  world  (and  some  out  of  the 
world)  know  this  fact  and  play  upon  the  weak  string  of  men’s  hearts 
until  all  is  gone — money,  character  and  even  life.  Kitty  had  seen 
much  of  human  nature,  entering  upon  her  wild  career  at  the  age  of 
ten.  She  was  married  three  times  and  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight.  A polite  and  intelligent  German  met  her.  He  was  going  well 
with  his  gold  claim;  she  knew  it.  Like  the  spider,  she  spun  her 
delicate  web  about  him  until  he  poured  into  her  lap  $8,000  in  gold, 
and  then  when  his  claim  would  yield  no  more  she  beat  him  over  the 
head  with  a bottle  and  drove  him  from  her  door.  One  and  another 
she  married,  and  then  when  their  money  was  gone,  discarded  them 
in  rapid  succession.  Yet  there  was  something  peculiarly  magnetic 
about  Kitty.  Men  did  love  her  and  there  are  men  living  to-day  who 
love  her  memory.  Well,  she’s  gone.  I saw  her  only  a short  time 
since,  lying  dead  by  the  body  of  her  inanimate  husband,  with  whom 
she  would  not  live,  but  with  whom  she  was  obliged  to  pass  quietly 
to  the  grave. 

Another  correspondent  writes  of  Deadwood  society  and  very 
gushingly  of  Kitty  as  follows: 

“There  are  dance  houses  and  theatres,  where  the  gay  society 
congregates,  and  it  is  at  such  houses,  as  well  as  at  the  gambling 
houses,  that  the  fair  sex  may  be  seen.  The  women,  though  not  so 
bad  as  the  men,  are  all  strong  minded,  which,  from  a hen-pecked 
point  of  view,  is  the  worst  thing  you  can  say  of  a female.  Some  keep 
bars,  taverns,  boarding  houses,  and  variety  shows,  while  a few  keep 
gambling  dens,  like  ‘The  Mint,’  which  was  kept  by  poor  Kitty  LeRoy, 
lately  killed  by  one  of  her  husbands,  which  was  the  tragic  end  of  a 
brilliant  career;  for,  barring  the  wild,  Gipsy-like  attire,  which  fash- 
ion would  fail  to  appreciate  as  intensely  picturesque,  Kitty  LeRoy 
was  what  a real  man  would  call  a starry  beauty.  Her  brow  was  low 
and  her  brown  hair  thick  and  curling;  she  had  five  husbands,  seven 


10 


Life  and  Adventures 


revolvers,  a dozen  bowie-knives  and  always  went  armed  to  the  teeth, 
which  latter  were  like  pearls  set  in  coral.  She  was  a terrific  gambler, 
and  wore  in  her  ears  immense  diamonds,  which  shone  most  like  her 
own  glorious  eyes.  The  magnetism  about  her  marvellous  beauty 
was  such  as  to  drive  her  lovers  crazy;  more  men  had  been  killed  about 
her  than  all  the  other  women  in  the  Hills  combined,  and  it  was  only 
a question  whether  her  lover  or  herself  had  killed  the  most, 

“She  could  throw  a bowie-knife  straighter  than  any  pistol  bullet 
except  her  own,  and  married  her  first  husband  because  he  was  the 
only  man  of  all  her  lovers  who  had  the  nerve  to  let  her  shoot  an 
apple  off  his  head  as  she  rode  by  him  at  full  speed.  On  one  occasion 
she  disguised  herself  in  male  attire  to  fight  a man  who  had  declined 
to  combat  with  a women  He  fell,  and  she  then  cried  over  him,  and 
married  him  in  time  to  be  his  widow.  Kitty  was  sometimes  rich  and 
sometimes  poor,  but  always  lavish  as  a prince  when  she  had  money. 
She  dealt  ‘vautoom’  and  ‘faro,’  and  played  all  games  and  cards  with 
a dexterity  that  amounted  to  genius. ” 

Kitty  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  wife  of  Capt.  E.  H.  Lewis,  of 
Bay  City,  Michigan.  But  in  1872  she  left  her  husband,  and  after 
that  time  figured  as  a public  dancer  in  various  part  of  the  Union. 
In  the  winter  of  1875-6  she  was  engaged  at  Thompson’s  variety  den 
in  Dallas.  While  there  she  created  quite  a sensation  among  the  lewd 
habitues  of  that  resort,  by  her  artistic  dancing  and  gay  rollicking 
and  dashing  manners.  After  a few  months  stay  she  ran  away  wich  a 
well  known  saloon  man,  and  together  the  two  visited  California, 
where  they  remained  a few  months  and  then  proceeded  to  Deadwooa. 
Subsequently  she  quarreled  with  her  paramour  and  married  Samuel 
R.  Curley,  a note  faro  dealer.  But  the  couple  proved  to  be  badly 
mated,  and  soon  after  their  marirage  Curley  went  to  Denver,  and 
almost  immediately  thereafter  the  broken  friendship  between 
Kitty  and  her  paramour  was  restored,  a fact  that  was  communicated 
to  Curley,  who  undoubtedly  went  to  Deadwood  for  the  express 
purpose  of  killing  his  wife,  her  paramour  and  himself,  for  he  travel- 
ed under  an  assumed  name;  alighted  from  the  coach  in  South  Dead- 
wood,  telling  the  driver  if  asked  if  any  passengers  other  than  those 
delivered  at  the  office  had  come  up,  to  say  no.  He  walked  direct  to 
the  hotel  at  which  the  unfortunate  woman  was  a guest,  remained 
there  all  day,  and  in  the  evening  sent  for  his  rival,'  who  refused  to 
to  visit  him.  He  then  told  a colored  man  employed  in  the  house 
that  he  intended  to  kill  his  wife  and  himself,  and  true  to  his  word 
went  up  stairs  and  did  so. 

When  the  bodies  of  the  murderer  and  his  victim  were  found  the 
woman  rested  upon  her  back,  in  a position  and  with  a quiet  facial 
expression  that  indicated  naught  of  the  bloody  deed  that  had  been 


of  Sam  Bass 


i 


11 


enacted  but  a moment  before.  Close  examination  revealed  a small 
bullet  hole  in  the  waist  of  her  dress,  which,  upon  being  opened, 
disclosed  the  fatal  wound  in  the  center  of  her  chest.  In  the  opposite 
corner  of  the  room  lay  the  murderer  upon  his  face,  in  a sickening 
pool,  of  blood,  his  brain  , oozing  out  and  pieces  of  skull  protruding 
from  a ghastly  wound.  His,  right  arm  was  doubled  up  behind  him, 
the  hand  grasping  a Smith  & Wesson,  by  which  the  fatal  deed  was 
committed. 

It  is  not  strange  that  in  such  society  as  this  Bass  soon  became 
fit  for  .crimes  of  the  first  magnitude.  But  before  entering  on  his 
career  of  daring  deeds  he  seems  to  have  made  one  more  effort  to 
follow  a respectable  occupation.  For  about  this  time  he  wrote  to 
Henry  Underwood,  then  in  Denton,  that  he  and  Collins  had  pur- 
chased a quartz  mine,  for  which  they  had  been  offered  $4,000,  but 
it  was  a big  thing  and  he  would  not  sell,  but  when  he  got  it  worked 
up  he  would  let  him  know  all  about  it.  He  assumed  his  friend 
in  the  phraseology  of  the  cattle  ranche,  that  he  had  the  world  by  the 
tail,  with  a down-hill  pull.  He  also  informed  him  that  he  would 
return  to  Texas  in  the  Fall  and  would  then  pay  off  his  creditors. 
But  whether  the  “tail  holt/’  of  which  he  boasted,  slipped  or  whether 
the  mine  had  been  salted  for  his  special  benefit  by  men  shrewder 
than  cow  boys,  is  not  known.  But  this  was  the  last  respectable 
piece  of  business  in  which  he  engaged.  After  this  he  is  known  to 
the  world  only  as  a bold  highwayman,  undertaking  deeds  of  daring 
which  but  few  bandits  have  the  audacity  to  attempt  or  the  nerve 
to  execute. 

What  led  immediately  to  his  final  plunge  into  a career  of  bold 
outlawry  is  known  only  from  the  statement  which  he  made  on  his 
death  bed.  When  asked  the  question  why  he  began  to  rob  he  replied 
that  he  had  won  some  money  gambling  and  had  been  robbed  of  it 
and  wanted  to  get  even  with  them.  Whether  this  occurred  at 
Deadwood  or  elsewhere  is  open  to  conjecture,  but  there  is  some 
reason  to  believe  that  he  referred  to  some  occasion  on  which  he  had 
been  beaten  out  of  his  money  by  sharpers.  The  fact  that  both  he 
and  Collins  got  rid  of  their  cattle  money  so  fast,  indicates  that  if 
there  were  none  more  reckless  and  daring,  yet  there  were  much 
shrewder  gamblers  and  sharpers  in  the  Hills  than  Bass  and  Collins. 


12 


Life  and  Adventures 


CHAPTER  IV 

LAUNCHING  INTO  CRIME. 

Black  Hills  Stage  Robberies — Great  Union  Pacific  Robbery  At  Big 
Spring,  Nebraska — Sixty  Thousand  Dollars  In  Gold  Captured. 

While  in  the  Black  Hills  Bass  made  the  acquaintance  of  Nixon 
and  Jack  Davis,  and  probably  of  all  the  men  who  assisted  in  the 
Union  Pacific  train  robbery.  But  according  to  his  own  statement 
only  Jack  Davis  and  Nixon  were  engaged  with  him  in  stage  robbing. 

There  were  seven  of  these  robberies  in  all,  and  some  money  was 
realized  from  them,  but  how  much  is  not  known. 

It  is  apparent  that  but  a short  time  elapsed  between  the  stage 
robberies  and  the  .capture  of  the  railroad  train  at  Big  Spring,  Ne- 
braska. 

This  was  one  of  the  most  daring  and  successful  train  robberies 
ever  committed. 

Collins  formed  the  plan  of  the  robbery,  though  it  is  believed 
Jack  Davis  first  suggested  it.  He  had  come  from  San  Francisco, 
and  was  familiar  with  the  fact  that  large  sums  of  gold  were  con- 
stantly passing  over  the  route.  The  names  of  the  gang,  six  in  num- 
ber, have  all  been  ascertained  since,  Bass  himself  testifying  to 
the  correctness  of  the  list  in  his  dying  moments.  They  were  Joel 
Collins,  formerly  from  Dallas  county,  Texas;  Sam  Bass,  from  Den- 
ton county,  Texas;  Jack  Davis,  from  San  Francisco;  Bill  Heffridge, 
who  went  from  San  Antonio  with  Collins  and  Bass;  James  Berry, 
from  Mexico,  Mo.,  and  Nixon,  of  whose  previous  history  but  little 
is  known. 

A more  daring  and  desperate  band  of  outlaws  was  never  gotten 
together  in  this  country.  Collins  acted  as  leader  of  the  band  and 
it  has  been  charged  that  he  spent  three  or  four  weeks  previous  to 
the  robbery  at  Ogalalla,  Neb.,  gambling  and  associating  with  desper- 
ate men,  from  whom  he  organized  the  gang.  It  has  also  been  said 
that  he  had  a cattle  ranche  near  Big  Spring  Station,  and  thus 
became  acqainted  with  the  habits  of  the  station  men,  the  operations 
of  trains  and  the  surroundings  of  the  office.  But  this  has  been 
denied. 

The  time  selected  for  the  robbery  was  Tuesday  night,  the  19th  of 
September  last.  As  Big  Spring  was  only  a water  station,  the  plan 
evidently  was,  to  capture  the  few  men  employed  about  the  station 
and  keep  them  under  guard  until  after  the  train  was  robbed. 

At  the  appointed  hour  the  bandits  boldly  rode  down  towards  the 


of  Sam  Bass 


13 


station,  hitched  their  horses  conveniently  near,  and  at  once  proceed- 
ed to  business.  With  a small  flourish  of  revolvers  and  the  well 
known  command,  “throw  up  your  arms,”  the  station  agent  and  as- 
sistant were  soon  made  secure. 

As  train  time,  10  o’clock,  drew  near,  the  bright  rays  of  the  head- 
light were  seen  falling  upon  the  distant  track.  Then  came  the  long 
sound  of  the  whistle,  the  rushing  train  checked  its  speed  and  in  a 
moment  more  stood  still  upon  the  track.  It  was  but  the  work  of 
an  instant  for  one  of  the  gang  to  mount  the  engine,  command  the 
engineer  and  fireman  to  throw  up  their  hands  and  there  hold  them 
helpless  under  the  muzzle  of  a cocked  revolver.  But  even  before 
this  had  been  accomplished,  two  of  his  confederates  had  boarded 
the  express  car  and  were  ransacking  its  contents.  They  soon  found 
a large  quantity  of  gold  in  one  of  the  safes,  but  the  other  could  not 
be  opened.  It  was  in  vain  that  they  ordered  the  messenger  to  open 
it.  He  assured  then  that  he  had  no  key,  that  it  was  a time  lock  and 
could  only  be  locked  or  opened  at  each  end  of  the  route.  Jack  Davis 
cursed  and  raved,  beat  him  over  the  head,  thrust  his  revolver  into 
his  mouth  kno.cking  out  one  of  his  teeth  and  lacerating  the  flesh,  and 
threatened  to  blow  the  top  of  his  head  right  off  if  he  didn’t  open  it. 
But  Bass  said  he  reckoned  the  messenger  was  telling  the  truth,  and 
that  thdy  had  better  give  it  up. 

After  going  through  the  coaches  and  robbing  the  terrified'  passen- 
gers the  bandits  slowly  backed  away,  keeping  their  arms  presented 
until  they  were  lost  to  view  in  the  darkness. 

A number  of  shots  were  fired  during  the  transaction  and  a few 
wounds  were  inflicted,  but  no  one  was  killed. 

The  gold  taken  from  the  express  car  amounted  to  the  sum  of 
$60,000,  no  small  weight  for  the  robbers  to  handle  under  the  circum- 
stances. It  consisted  entirely  of  twenty  dollar  gold  pieces,  of  the 
coinage  of  1877,  a fact  which  was  afterwards  of  material  assistance 
in  ferreting  out  the  perpetrators  of  the  crime. 

Shortly  after  the  robbery,  the  gang  divided  the  money  and 
separated,  going  two  together  by  different  routes.  Bass,  Davis,  and 
Nixon,  for  a time  vanished  from  view.  Of  the  others  we  shall  speak 
in  the  succeeding  chapters. 


14 


Life  and  Adventures 


CHAPTER  V 

FATED. 

Great  Excitement  Among  Railroad  Officals. — On  The  Trail  — Uncle 
Sam’s  Soldiers  to  the  Front. — Two  Travel  Stained  Cow  Boys. — 
Heavily  Laden  Pony. — Capture  of  Collins  and  Heffridge. — They 
Die  With  Their  Boots  On. — Subsequent  Doubt. — Collins  Defend- 
ed.— Short  Sketch  of  His  Life. 

The  Big  Spring  robbery  created  intense  excitement  among  railroad 
officials  and  caused  a general  sensation  throughout  the  country. 

The  large  amount  of  money  secured  was  looked  upon  as  a temp- 
tation which  would  soon  lead  to  another  like  attempt.  This  in  con- 
nection with  the  heavy  shipments  of  gold  over  the  line  would  be 
likely  to  excite  the  cupidity  of  every  bandit  in  the  West,  at  the 
same  time  the  long  stretch  of  road  through  waste  and  desert  regions, 
with  here  and  there  a lonely  station,  made  it  very  difficult  to  afford 
adequate  protection.  It  was  determined,  therefore,  to  capture 
the  robbers  at  any  cost  and  hazards.  Large  rewards  were  at  once 
offered  by  the  State  authorities  of  Nebraska  and  by  the  railroad 
companies.  This  brought  forward  detectives  from  almost  every 
quarter.  Telegrams  were  sent  to  all  officers  along  railroad  lines,  to 
sheriffs  and  officers  in  command  of  U.  S.  troops. 

At  first  it  was  not  wholly  known  who  the  robbers  were  or  whence 
they  came.  But  it  so  chanced  that  among  the  passengers  on  the 
plundered  train  was  a young  man  named  Andy  Riley,  a resident 
of  Omaha.  During  the  attack  upon  the  train,  Riley  stood  upon 
the  platform  and  received  a wound  in  the  hand  from  one  of  the 
flying  bullets,  he  was  also  robbed  along  with  the  rest  of  the  pas- 
sengers. He  had  traveled  with  Joel  Collins  on  the  way  to  Deadwood 
and  knew  him  well.  He  had  also  seen  him  and  conversed  with 
him  only  a few  days  before,  while  on  a visit  to  Ogalalla.  Great 
was  his  surprise,  therefore,  when  the  robbers  came  through  the 
train,  to  find  Joel  Collins  among  them.  Immediately  upon  his 
return  to  Omaha  he  notified  the  officials  of  the  fact  and  Collins’ 
name  and  description  of  his  person  were  accordingly  telegraphed 
in  all  directions. 

It  was  shortly  learned  also  that  after  leaving  the  railroad,  the 
robbers  crossed  the  Platte  river,  in  Nebraska  and  were  next  heard 


of  Sam  Bass 


15 


of  at  Young’s  ranche  on  the  Republican  river  in  Kansas.*  This  was 
on  the  23d,  the  next  Saturday  after-  the  robbery.  Intelligence  ol 
this  fact  having  reached  Sheriff  Bardsley,  of  Ellis  county,  Kansas, 
he  at  once  started  from  Hays  City,  on  the  Kansas  Pacific  road,  with 
a squad  of  ten  cavalrymen  and  a detective  from  Denver  and  made  his 
headquarters  at  Buffalo  Station,  on  the  Kansas  Pacific.  This  is  sixty 
miles  west  of  Hays  City,  in  the  center  of  a wild  and  dreary  waste. 
Nearby  is  a large  ravine,  in  which  the  Sheriff  and  his  posse  camped. 
While  there,  about  nine  o’clock  in  the  morning  of  the  26th,  Joel  Col- 
lins, the  chief  of  the  train  robbers,  and  a single  adherent,  rode  up  to 
the  lonely  station. 

The  following  account  of  their  capture  and  tragical  death  we  take 
from  a Western  daily  of  the  28th: 

When  first  seen  they  were  riding  from  the  north,  coming  boldly 
over  a high  ridge  of  open  prairie.  They  led  between  them  a pony 
heavily  laden  with  something  which,  while  it  was  not  bulky,  seemed 
to  tax  the  strength  of  the  pony  to  carry  it.  The  men  were  dusty 
and  travel  stained.  They  appeared  to  be  and  might  have  been  taken 
for  two  Texas  “cow  boys”  out  on  a hunt  for  cattle  or  on  their  way 
to  join  a herd.  Had  they  rode  straight  across  the  track  and  continued 
their  journey  without  stopping,  no  suspicion  would  have  been  aroused; 
but  they  were  led  instinctively  to  their  death.  They  rode  their  jaded 
horses  to  the  shady  side  of  the  principal  building  of  the  station,  and 
one  of  the  two  dismounted,  leaving  his  partner  in  charge  of  the 
horses  and  the  pack  pony.  The  man  left  in  charge  of  the  horses  said 
they  were  Texas  cattle  men  on  their  way  home,  and  enquiring  the  way 
to  Fort  Larned.  The  dismounted  man  walked  up  to  the  station  agent 
and  enquired  the  way  to  Thompson’s  store.  The  building  was  pointed 
out  to  him,  but  as  he  stood  conversing  he  took  out  his  handkerchief, 
which  revealed  a letter  in  his  pocket  upon  which  was  plainly  visible 
he  superscription  “Joel  Collins.”  This  was  the  name  of  the  leader 
of  the  Union  Pacific  train  robbers,  and  the  brands  upon  their  horses 
assured  the  station  agent  that  these  were  the  men  wanted  by  the 
Sheriff  and  his  soldiers  encamped  a few  hundred  yards  away.  Sheriff 
Bardsley  was  notified  at  once,  and  he  came  up  to  the  station  and 
examined  the  horses  and  made  other  satisfactory  observances.  He 
conversed  with  the  robber  chief  for  some  time,  and  asked  many 
questions,  which  were  freely  answered.  They  walked  together  to  the 
station  and  took  a drink,  and  conversed  upon  various  unconsequental 
subjects.  Collins  made  no  effort  to  conceal  his  real  name.  He  had 


-’-Detective  Leech,  of  Ogalalla,  afterwards  claimed  that  he  was  in  the  camp  of 
the  gang  on  the  night  they  divided  the  money,  and  that  he  knew  by  sight  all 
the  r.obbers.  He  said  that  he  escaped  capture  at  their  hands  only  by  hasty  flight 

on  his  horse 


16 


Life  and  Adventures 


no  suspicion  whatever  that  the  telegraph  had  given  his  name  and 
description  at  that  little  station  in  the  middle  of  the  buffalo  plains. 
Bardsley  then  left  his  prey  and  started  back  to  $he  camp  of  the 
soldiers,  who  were  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Alien,  and  ordered 
them  to  saddle  up  and  follow  him,  and  he  would  bring  back  the 
Texans. 

In  the  meantime  the  two  horsemen  with  their  heavily  burdened 
pony  had  started  out  on  the  open  plains  southward.  Sheriff  Bardsley 
and  his  posse  started  out  in  pursuit. 

When  Collins  and  his  companions  saw  the  Sheriff  and  his  blue 
coated  posse  of  cavalry  appear  on  their  trail,  they  manifested  no 
excitement.  They  did  not  even  attempt  to  run.  On  the  contrary, 
they  rode  on  leisurely  on  the  Texas  trail  unil  Sheriff  Bardsley  rode 
up  and  halted  them.  Even  then  they  gave  no  sign  of  trepidation  or 
excitement.  Collins  looked  at  Bardsley  with  the  coolest  effrontery 
and  demanded  his  business.  Said  Sheriff  Bardsley: 

“I  have  a description  of  some  train  robbers  which  answers  well 
to  your  appearance.  I want  you  and  your  partner  to  return  with 
me  to  the  station.  You  need  fear  nothing  if  you  are  innocent,  and 
if  you  are  the  man  I want,  then  I am  $10,000  better  off.  Please 
come  back  to  the  station,  gentlemen.” 

“You  are  mistaken  in  your  men,  gentlemen,”  said  Collins,  laugh- 
ingly, “but,  of  course  there  is  no  use  to  object.  We  will  go  back 
and  have  the  mistake  explained.  We  are  Texas  boys  going  home — 
that’s  all.” 

Then  they  turned  their  tired  horses  back  towards  the  station. 
As  they  returned  they  exchanged  a few  brief  words  which  were  un- 
distinguishable  even  by  the  nearest  trooper.  They  rode  a few  hun- 
dred yards  over  the  level  plain  towards  the  solitary  station,  when 
suddenly  the  leader,  Joel  Collins,  broke  the  silence.  Turning  to 
his  companion  he  said: 

“Pard,  if  we  are  to  die,  we  might  as  well  die  game.” 

Then  he  drew  his  revolver.  His  partner  followed  his  example, 
but  before  either  could  fire,  the  troops  had  fired  a volley  into  them 
and  they  fell  from  their  horses  riddled  with  bullets.  The  robbers 
died  instantly  and  were  taken  to  the  station  for  burial,  but  were 
afterwards  taken  so  Ellis  station,  where  an  inquest  was  held  upon  the 
bodies. 

The  body  of  Collins  was  identified  by  a dozen  of  his  old  Texas 
acquaintances  but  for  a long  time  the  body  of  his  accomplice  could 
not  be  identified.  It  was  at  first  believed  to  be  that  of  Sam  Bass 
himself,  and  was  so  telegraphed  over  the  country  and  published  in 
the  papers. 

Finally  Anna  Langs  appeared  in  the  depot,  where  the  bodies  were 
lying,  and  stated,  under  oath,  that  she  recognized  the  body  as  being 


of  Sam  Bass 


17 


that  of  William  Cotts,  formerly  of  Pottsville,  Pa.,  but  more  recently 
of  San  Antonio,  Texas,  and  that  his  father  resided  in  Pottsville. 
He  was  a light  complexioned  man,  about  thirty  years  of  age,  light 
hair  and  sandy  beard,  about  five  feet  seven  inches  high  and  weighed 
135  pounds. 

Whether  Anna  had  any  real  knowledge  of  the  man,  or  whether 
she  thought  so  “because  she  thought  so,”  or  whether  the  true  name 
of  Heffridge  was  Cotts,  is  difficult  to  say.  But  there  is  no  doubt 
now  that  the  man  who  fell  with  Joel  Collins  under  a shower  of  bullets, 
was  the  member  of  the  gang  known  as  Bill  Heffridge. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  Collins  was  described  as  being  dark 
complexioned,  with  black  hair  and  beard,  about  five  feet  eleven  inches 
high,  weighed  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  was  supposed 
to  be  twenty-eight  years  old.  He  was  also  said  to  have  been  affable, 
of  pleasing  address,  intelligent,  and  very  handsome.  Upon  his  body 
a small  piece  of  paper  was  found  upon  which  was  written  a poetical 
effusion  by  a lady  and  dedicated  to  Joel  Collins.  But  the  richest 
discovery  was  made  upon  the  pony.  When  the  tired  little  animal 
was  stripped  of  the  blanket  which  covered  the  pack  saddle,  an  old 
pair  of  pantaloons  was  found  underneath.  The  ends  of  the  legs  had 
been  tied  together,  then  they  were  filled  with  gold  and  thrown 
across  the  saddle.  When  the  glittering  metal  was  turned  out  upon 
the  ground  and  counted,  it  was  found  that  the  amount  was  no  less 
than  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  It  was  all  of  the  mintage  of 
1877  and  in  twenty  dollar  pieces. 

This  fact,  taken  in  connection  with  the  other  circumstances, 
furnished  the  strongest  evidence  that  the  lucky  Bardsley  had  struck 
the  right  man.  Railroad  officials  were  in  high  glee  and  congratu- 
lations were  exchanged  all  along  the  line. 

But  in  a few  days  serious  doubts  began  to  creep  into  many  minds 
and  it  was  gravely  feared  that  the  deadly  rifle  had  struck  down  an 
innocent  man.  A leading  law  firm  at  Topeka,  Kansas,  was  retained 
to  investigate  the  circumstance  attending  the  bloody  tragedy.  It 
was  alleged  in  Collins’  defense  that  he  obtained  a large  sum  of 
money  from  the  drove  of  cattle  which  had  been  disposed  of  the 
pervious  year,  that  he  had  written  to  his  father  that  he  had  obtained 
twenty-five  cents  per  pound  for  them  and  would  soon  start  home  with 
the  money.  It  was  also  stated  that  he  had  amassed  a considerable 
fortune  in  the  cattle  business  with  his  brother  near  San  Antonio 
and  that  this  precluded  all  temptation  to  commit  robbery.  In 
addition  to  this  it  was  said  there  was  unquestionable  evidence  as 
to  the  time  Collins  started  for  home,  and  of  his  movements,  which 
tended  to  show  that  he  could  not  have  been  in  the  vicinity  of  Big 
Spring  at  the  time  of  the  robbery.  Collins’  conduct  at  the  moment 


18 


Life  and  Adventures 


of  his  death  was  accounted  for  on  the  supposition  that  he  believed 
himself  in  the  hands  of  a gang  of  outlaws  who  intended  to  rob  and 
murder  him,  and  that  he  was  determined  to  sell  his  life  as  dearly 
as  possible. 

About  this  time,  also,  an  old  Texan  came  out  with  a short  news- 
paper article  defending  Collins  from  many  of  the  charges  which 
had  been  made  against  him  and  stating  it  to  be  the  belief  of  those 
who  had  long  known  young  Collins  and  his  parents,  that  he  was  not 
the  guilty  man. 

But  a few  days  later  the  dying  statement  of  one  of  his  captured 
confederates  forever  set  at  rest  all  doubt  in  regard  to  the  matter. 
Since  then  the  death-bed  statement  of  Bass  himself  has  been  added  to 
the  proof. 

As  Joel  Collins,  so  far  as  known,  participated  in  but  one  no- 
ted crime,  few  events  in  his  life  have  been  preserved  on  record. 

He  was  born  in  Dallas  county,  Texas  where  his  parents  still 
reside,  his  father  being  a farmer  of  somie  means  and  a man  who  has 
long  enjoyed  the  respect  and  sympathy  of  his  neighbors. 

In  1868  Young  Collins  left  home  and  went  to  the  southwest 
part  of  the  State  where  he  had  a brother  in  the  cattle  business. 
From  1868  to  1870  he  was  in  the  employ  of  Allen  and  Poole,  the 
great  cattle  men  of  the  coast,  and  stood  well  as  a young  man. 

In  1871  he  took  a herd  of  one  thousand  cattle  to  Kansas  for 
Bennet  and  Schoate,  of  North  Texas. 

In  1872  he  took  up  a large  herd  for  P.  T.  Adams,  Joel  receiv- 
ing one  half  the  profits.  In  1873  he  did  the  same  thing  and  on 
the  same  favorable  terms  for  James  Reed. 

In  1874  he  bought  a drove  from  Bennet  and  Akard,  partly  on 
time  and  was  induced  (if  not  forced)  to  ship  them  to  Ch.cago  at  a 
heavy  loss.  This  he  did  against  his  will  in  order  to  meet  the 
deferred  payment,  when  the  cattle  were  poor  and  the  market 
down. 

This  is  the  statement  made  by  his  friends,  while  others  give  a 
different  version  of  the  matter. 

In  1875  he  kept  a saloon  in  San  Antonio  for  a few  months. 
The  house  is  said  to  have  been  a disreputable  one. 

In  1876,  as  we  have  already  seen,  he  took  his  last  drove  North 
in  company  with  Bass.  In  the  Spring  of  1877  he  is  said  to  have 
opened  a provision  store  at  Polato  Gsulch,  thirty-five  miles  from 
Deadwood.  His  friends  claim  that  he  remained  there  until  he 
“started  for  Texas.”  But  there  is  much  reason  to  doubt  whether 
it  was  known  to  them  what  he  was  doing  during  his  last  stay  in 
the  North.  H's  letters  were  not  always  intended  to  give  the  exact 
situation  of  affairs.  It  has  been  charged  that  he  killed  several 
men  during  his  life,  but  this  is  probably  an  exaggeration  as  there 


of  Sam  Bass 


i 


19 


is  no  authentic  account  of  more  than  one  such  act.  In  1869  he 
killed  a Mexican  in  Victoria  county,  but  surrendered  himself,  was 
tried  and  acquitted.  As  is  well  known  it  is  very  difficult  for  an 
American  to  murder  a Mexican.  It  is  a principle  with  jurists  that 
such  acts  are  always  for  self  defense. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  we  pause  for  a mfoment  to  note 
the  fatal  chain  of  apparently  trivial  circumstances  which  so  quickly 
tightened  around  the  unfortunate  Collins.  Never  was  the  perpe- 
trator of  a great  crime  stricken  down  by  a more  unerring  blow  of 
retribution  at  the  very  moment  when  escape  seemed  well  night  as- 
sured. It  must  be  admitted  that  he  showed  a singular  lack  of 
shrewdness,  first  in  not  thoroughly  disguishing  himself  when  he 
boarded  the  train,  and  secondly  in  not  giving  a wide  berth  to . all 
telegraph  stations.  But  still,  had  he  rode  through  Buffalo  Station 
without  stopping  he  would  have  passed  unnoticed;  or  had  he  left 
the  dust  and  sweat  upon  his  face  and  allowed  his  handkerchief  to 
remain  in  his  pocket,  or  had  the  tell-tale  envelope  not  clung  to  it, 
he  might  soon  have  been  beyond  the  reach  of  detectives  and  sol- 
diers. But  the  unseen  hand  of  fate  had  marked  him  for  her  own 
and  at  that  very  hour. 

His  bold  attempts  to  defend  himself  against  a whole  troop  of 
soldiers  may  be  called  bravery,  but  it  was  the  extrerrfe  of  folly.  In 
a country  like  this,  where  jails  are  weak  and  the  law  weaker  than 
the  jails,  where  the  whole  criminal  jurisprudence  seems  to  be  run  for 
the  protection  of  criminals  rather  than  the  public,  it  would  have 
been  better  to  submit  quietly  and  await  a better  opportunity. 
There  is  reason,  however,  to  believe  that  this  reckless  leader  of 
bandits  feared  Judge  Lynch  and  preferred  to  “die  game.” 


20 


Life  and  Adventures 


CHAPTER  VI 

JAMES  BERRY. 

Hot  on  the  Track — Berry  in  Mexico,  Missouri — Sells  Large  Sums 
of  Gold — Scatters  Money  With  a Free  Hand — Whole  Corps  of  De- 
tectives in  Pursuit — A Disappointment — Better  Luck — The  Bandit 
Captured — His  Confession  and  Death — Escape  of  Nixon. 

The  capture  and  death  of  Collins  and  HefFridge  occured  September 
26th,  but  no  further  clue  to  the  remaining  robbers  was  obtained 
until  about  the  8th  or  9th  of  October,  when  suspicion  was  aroused 
in  Mexico,  Mo.,  by  a large  sale  of  gold  which  was  made  there.  While 
at  Boonville  October  11th,  Col.  A.  B.  Garner,  General  Superintendent 
of  the  M.  K.  & T.  railway,  received  the  following  telegram: 

To  Col.  A.  B.  Garner,  Boonville,  Mo.  : 

Mexico,  Mo.,  Oct.  11. — James  Berry,  an  old  resident  of  Callaway 
county,  is  one  of  the  Union  Pacific  train  robbers.  He  was  at  William- 
burg  Monday  night.  He  is  six  feet  high,  weighs  about  190  pounds, 
is  forty  years  old,  has  a red  face,  yellowish  red  hair,  mustache  and 
goatee,  just  recently  shaved,  round,  full  face,  blue  eyes  and  freckly 
hands.  We  will  pay  $500  for  his  arrest  and  ten  per  cent  of  the 
money  recovered.  He  had  about  $9,000.  Think  he  is  making  for 
Texas.  Have  all  crossings  closely  watched.  He  has  a pacing 
bay  horse  and  new  saddle. 

On  the  same  day  the  Moberly  Monitor  published  the  following: 
“A  man  by  the  name  of  Jim  Berry,  of  Callaway  county,  has  just 
returned  from  the  Black  Hills  to  Mexico,  Mo.  Suspicion  has  been 
directed  to  him  of  complicity  in  the  Union  Pacific  roberry,  by  a 
financial  transaction  in  which  he  was  engaged  immediately  on  his 
return.  The  morning  after  his  arrival  in  Mexico  he  visited  the 
banks  at  the  hour  of  opening  and  sold  gold  to  the  amount  of  $9, 
000.  Berry  remained  in  Mexico  all  day  Friday  and  until  Sunday 
evening.  He  was  princely  extravagant  with  his  money.  Meeting 
an  old  mining  acquaintance  he  gave  him  $250;  he  delighted  a cloth- 
ier by  purchasing  a fine  suit  of  clothing  without  higgling  at  the 
price,  and  bought  a $300  bill  of  groceries,  which  were  sent  to  his 
family  in  Callaway.  Saturday  evening  he  took  his  departure,  and 
Monday  morning  the  bankers  received  news  that  the  gold  he  had 
exchanged,  and  which  they  had  shipped  to  St.  Louis,  had  been 
identified  as  part  of  the  treasure  captured  by  the  Union  Pacific  rob- 
bers. The  next  day  (Tuesday)  a corps  of  detectives  from  St.  Louis 
and  Chicago  arrived  at  Mexico,  and  with  the  Audrain  county 


of  Sam  Bass 


21 


sheriff  at  their  head,  started  in  pursuit  of  Berry.  After  a long 
rough  ride  the  vicinity  of  his  house  was  reached  and  the  party  so 
disposed  as  to  completely  surround  it.  They  now  felt  sure  of  their 
game  and  the  rich  reward  that  awaited  his  capture.  But  they 
were  doomed  to  disappointment.  Narrowing  the  circle  and  grad- 
ually closing  in,  a rush  was  finally  made  for  the  house.  They  en- 
countered no  opposition  where  they  had  calculated  upon  a fierce 
resistance,  and,  upon  entering,  they  found  that  the  bird  had  flown. 
A thorough  search  of  the  premises  revealed  no  trace  of  the  daring 
robber,  and,  though  the  whole  country  had  been  scoured  by  differ- 
ent parties,  h.s  trail  had  not  been  struck  up  to  yesterday  There 
is  not  a particle  of  doubt  that  Berry  was  one  of  the  robbers  and  his 
capture  is  only  a question  of  time.” 

This  prophecy  was  shortly  fulfilled,  as  the  following  account  of 
his  capture,  published  in  the  Mexico  Ledger,  October  15th,  will 
show: 

“We  have  just  interviewed  H.  Glascock  and  J.  Berry,  concern- 
ing the  arrest  of  Berry,  Sunday  morning,  and  we  give  you  the 
facts  as  near  as  possible  below: 

“It  appears  that  last  Saturday  night  as  our  sheriff  was  eating 
supper,  about  half-past  six  o’clock,  he  received  a message  that  a 
man  was  in  town  after  the  suit  of  clothes  Berry  had  left  at  Blum’s 
The  man’s  name  was  Bose  Cazy;  he  lived  near  Berry’s.  He  told 
Blum  that  Berry  had  told  him  that  he  could  have  the  clothes  if  he 
would  pay  the  balance  of  $30  due  on  them.  This  was  the  way  he 
had  his  “job”  fixed  up.  Glascock  ran  right  down  to  Kabrich’s 
hall  and  hid  behind  the  corner  and  saw  Cazy  come  out;  this  was 
half  past  seven.  Glascock  followed  him  to  Wallace  and  McKamy’s 
livery  stable.  Just  as  Glascock  got  near  the  stable  he  met  J.  Car- 
ter, and  told  him  to  come  along.  Carter,  Glascock  and  Cazy  all 
got  to  the  stable  at  the  same  time.  Cazy  paid  for  his  horse  feed 
and  started  to  get  on  his  horse.  Sheriff  Glascock  took  Cazy  by  the 
collar,  presented  a pistol  to  his  head  and  told  him  he  would  shoot 
him  if  he  moved.  Cazy  did  not  move.  Glascock  ordered  two 
more  horses  saddled.  They  then  tied  Cazy  on  his  horse.  The 
sheriff  and  Carter  then  got  on  their  horses  and  the  calvacade  moved 
off,  Glascock  leading  Cazy’s  horse.  They  went  down  to  the  branch 
near  Tom  Smith’s  in  South  Mexico,  and  as  they  thought  no  one 
would  get  wind  of  them  there,  they  stopped.  Glascock  then  went 
and  got  John  Coons,  Bob  Steele  and  a young  man  named  Moore. 
All  got  horses  and  double-barrel  shot  guns  which  were  loaded  with 
buck  shot.  They  then  told  Cazy  they  would  have  to  know  where 
Berry  was.  He  said  he  had  not  seen  him  since  he  (Berry)  had 
told  him  he  could  have  the  clothes,  which  was  about  a week  before. 
The  men  started  out  towards  Cazy’s  house,  and  passed  Jeff  Jones 


22 


Life  and  Adventures 


about  12  o'clock  Saturday  night.  About  three  o’clock  they  got  to 
James  Armstrong’s.  Sheriff  Glascock  told  him  what  they  had  done, 
and  he  wanted  Armstrong  to  go  with  them  and  show  them  where 
Cazy  lived,  as  he  was  afraid  that  Cazy  would  fool  them.  Arm- 
strong said  he  did  not  know  where  Cazy  lived,  and  so  would  not 
go.  We  don’t  know  whether  Armstrong  knew  or  not.  It  was 
then  three  o’clock  Sunday  morning.  The  posse  then  all  got  around 
Cazy,  put  their  guns  to  his  heart  and  told  him  if  he  led  them  into 
any  trap,  or  did  not  take  them  at  once  to  his  house  they  would 
shoot  him  down  in  a minute.  He  said  he  would  take  them  to  his 
house  if  it  would  do  them  any  good.  When  they  got  within  about 
a half  a mile  of  Cazy’s  (house  they  took  Cazy  off,  tied  him  and  left 
Bob  Steele  to  guard  him;  then  Glascock  placed  two  men  north  of 
the  house  and  stable,  Moore  and  himself  going  to  the  south  and  west 
side,  and  as  the  open  timber  was  there  they  thought  he  might  be 
over  in  that.  They  did  not  alarm  Cazy’s  house  at  all,  it  was  not 
quite  daylight  yet.  They  all  secreted  themselves  in  thickets,  as 
mentioned  above,  to  await  results.  Glascock  told  his  men: 
“Boys  if  you  see  him  halt  him;  if  he  shows  fight  shoot  him  down; 
if  he  runs  shoot  him  in  the  legs;  catch  him  at  all  hazards.”  In  about 
half  an  hour  Glascock  heard  a horse  “nicker”  about  a half  a mile 
off,  as  he  thought.  Moore  and  Glascock  then  crept  toward  the 
noise,  went  300  yards  down  the  branch,  came  to  a fence,  saw  fresh 
horse  tracks.  Glascock!  got  over  the  fence  and  got  into  a thicket; 
heard  the  horse  snort  about  fifty  yards  off  in  the  brush.  Glascock 
took  off  his  hat  and  crept  up  twenty  yards  closer;  then  he  raised 
up  and  saw  Berry  unhitching  the  horse  from  a tree.  Berry  then 
led  his  horse  aslant  toward  Glascock,  as  Berry  now  says,  to  lead 
him  to  water.  Glascock  cocked  both  barrels  of  his  gun,  ran  out 
about  twenty  yards,  within  about  twenty  feet  of  Berry,  and  de- 
manded him  to  halt.  Berry  started  to  run;  Glascock  shot,  but 
aimed  too  high,  which  caused  the  charge  to  go  over  Berry’s  head. 
He  shot  again  and  seven  buckshot  lodged  in  Berry’s  left  leg  below 
the  knee.  Berry  fell  to  tihe  ground.  When  Glascock  got  to  him 
he  was  trying  to  get  his  pistol  out  but  he  could  not  get  it  out  be- 
fore Glascock  was  on  him  and  snatched  it  away  from  him.  He 
then  asked  Glascock  to  shoot  him,  that  he  did  not  want  to  live. 

“Glascock  told  him  no;  that  he  did  not  want  to  kill  him,  he 
wanted  him  to  have  justice.  Just  then  Moore  came  up. 

“After  Moore  came  up,  Glascock  called  for  the  rest  of  the  posse 
when  they  all  gathered  around  Berry.  Glascock  then  searched 
him  and  found  in  his  belt  five  $500  packages,  and  in  his  pocket- 
book  was  found  $340.  He  had  a gold  watch  and  chain,  one  dress- 
ing coat,  three  overcoats  and  comfort.  He  had  doubtless  slept 
there  within  ten  feet  of  the  horse.  They  took  him  to  Cazy’s  house, 


of  Sam  Bass 


23 


when  Mrs.  Cazy  got  breakfast  for  the  men,  while  a messenger  was 
sent  to  Williamsburg  for  medical  assistance. 

Immediately  afer  breakfast  Sheriff  Glascock  and  John  Carter 
started  for  Berry’s  house  to  look  for  the  balance  of  the  money. 
Upon  arriving  there  Glascock  inquired  of  Mrs.  Berry  the  where- 
abouts of  Berry;  she  replied  that  she  did  not  know,  as  she  had  not 
seen  him  for  four  or  five  days,  and  thought  he  had  left  the  country. 
Glascock  then  showed  her  the  watch  and  chain,  when  one  of  the 
children  said:  Oh,  I thought  that  was  papa’s.  Glascock  then 
told  her  he  had  got  Berry,  when  she  asked  if  he  had  been  taken 
alive,  and  receiving  an  affirmative  reply,  said:  I never  thought  he 
would  be  taken  alive.  He  has  said  a good  many  times  he  would 
never  be  taken  alive.  At  this  they  all  began  to  cry — the  wife,  one 
little  boy  and  five  little  girls.  It  was  a very  distressing  scene. 

“Glascock  searched  the  house,  but  found  no  money.  The  house 
was  well  provisioned  for  the  winter — hams  without  number,  sacks 
of  flour  and  coffee,  kegs  of  molasses,  etc. 

After  Glascock  left  Cazy’s  about  forty  of  Berry’s  friends  came 
around  and  made  threats  about  taking  him  away,  but  they  did  not 
make  any  attempt  at  all;  it  all  ended  in  talk.” 

At  first  it  was  not  thought  that  Berry’s  wounds  were  serious, 
but  gangrene  set  in  and  on  the  night  of  the  18th  his  sufferings  be- 
came very  great.  It  was  apparent  that  he  had  not  long  to  live, 
but  he  maintained  a determined  and  bravado  spirit  to  the  last.  As 
the  deep  silence  of  night  settled  down  upon  all  without,  he  lay  in 
his  gloomy  cell,  alternately  writhing  in  paroxysms  of  pain  or  coolly 
talking  to  the  officers  who  remained  with  him  to  the  last,  anxious 
to  secure  a dying  confession.  This  wish  was  partly  gratified,  as 
he  stated  in  his  dying  moments,  that  he  was  one  of  the  parties  who 
committed  the  Big  Springs  robbery;  that  Collins  had  planned  the 
robbery  and  that  the  names  of  the  rest  of  the  gang  were  correct,  as 
given  by  the  Express  Company.  He  said  that  they  all  traveled 
together  two  hundred  miles  and  then  separated  in  squads  of  two, 
that  his  partner  came  to  Mexico  with  him  and  then  went  on  to 
Chicago.  This  partner  must  have  been  Nixon,  as  it  is  well  known 
that  it  was  not  Davis.  After  much  suffering  Berry  died  at  one 
o’clock  in  the  morning.  He  left  a wife  and  six  children.  He  is 
said  to  have  been  very  respectably  connected  in  Gallaway  county. 

Thus  it  is  seen  that  in  less  than  a month  three  of  the  Big 
Spring  robbers  had  been  consigned  to  bloody  graves.  They  had 
lost  their  booty  and  paid  the  penalty  of  their  crimes  with  their 
lives. 

There  is  little  reason  to  doubt  Berry’s  statement  that  Nixon 
went  to  Chicago.  From  that  city  he  probably  went  to  Canada,  as 
Henry  Underwood  stated  to  the  officers  at  Omaha,  December  30th, 
that  Nixon  was  a Canadian  and  that  he  was  then  in  Canada.  Bass 
also  made  the  statement  at  Round  Rock. 


24 


Life  and  Adventures 


CHAPTER  VII 

ESCAPE  OF  BASS  AND  DAVIS 

Four  Days  With  Their  Pursuers — They  Separate — Davis  Goes  To 
New  Orleans  and  Bass  to  Denton — Trip  to  San  Antonio — Under- 
wood Wanted  for  Nixon — Failure  to  Capture  Him, — The  Curse 
of  Stolen  Gold. 

According  to  the  dying  statement  of  Davis,  the  whole  gang 
traveled  together  two  hundred  miles  and  then  separated.  Where 
this  separation  occurred  is  not  known,  though  it  was  probably 
somewhere  near  the  Republican  river  in  Kansas,  where  the  gang 
was  seen  four  days  after  the  robbery. 

In  the  separation  Bass  and  Davis  chose  to  go  together.  Like 
the  ill-fated  Collins,  they  also  started  for  Texas,  but  by  a different 
route.  It  is  said  that  they  visited  Sidney,  Neb.,  after  the  robbery, 
and  left  the  city  suddenly.  But  this  is  doubtful,  as  it  would  have 
been  attended  by  very  great  danger.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  they  purchased  a one-horse  hack,  loaded  their  gold  in  it 
and  turned  their  course  southward  just  as  soon  as  circumstances 
would  permit.  Months  after  this  when  Bass  was  safe  in  Denton, 
while  lounging  the  day  away  in  camp,  he  told  the  boys,  that  soon 
after  they  set  out  in  the  buggy  they  fell  in  with  a company  of 
soldiers  and  detectives.  They  at  once  assured  them  that  they  too 
were  detectives  hot  in  pursuit  of  the  bold  bandits,  who  had  robbed 
the  Union  Pacific  train,  and  that  they  hoped  to  come  up  with 
them,  for  there  would  be  a big  thing  in  the  capture.  This  threw 
the  officers  off  their  guard,  and  the  two  were  allowed  to  join  the 
squad.  They  continued  with  them  four  days,  while  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars  of  ill-gotten  gold  clanked  under  their  seat  as  the  old 
hack  rattled  over  the  road.  The  officers  with  whom  they  laughed 
and  joked  all  day  long,  would  have  given  thousands  of  dollars  to 
have  known  this  secret,  but  it  remained  concealed,  and  finally  the 
wily  robbers  bade  them  good  bye  and  drove  gayly  away. 

The  next  heard  of  them  was  in  Cooke  county,  where  Bass  passed 
under  the  name  of  Samuel  Bushon.  Here  they  separated,  Bass 
going  to  his  old  home  in  Denton  and  Davis  departing  for  the  gay 
metropolis  of  the  South.  Here  he  seems  to  have  lived  a fast  life, 
spending  his  money  freely,  and  enjoying  himself  as  passion  led  or 
vice  dictated. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  he  suspected  that  detectives  were 
shadowing  his  track.  This  led  to  his  return  to  Texas,  where  he 


of  Sam  Bass 


25 


met  Bass  and  the  two  proceeded  to  Fort  Worth.  Here  Jim  Mur- 
phy exchanged  $4,000  of  the  stolen  gold  for  greenbacks.  Bass 
divided  the  money  with  his  old  partner,  and  that  night  Davis  took 
the  train,  and  now  a score  or  more  of  detectives  would  give  much 
to  know  where  he  is. 

Early  in  December  Sam  Bass,  Henry  Underwood  and  Frank 
Jackson  went  to  San  Antonio.  Thither  they  were  followed  by 
Sheriff  Everheart  of  Sherman,  Tom  Gerrin,  a rather  noted  character 
of  Denton,  and  Tooney  Waits,  a detective  who  had  come  from  the 
north  to  identify  the  parties  connected  with  the  Big  Springs  rob- 
bery. Waits  believed  that  Underwood  was  connected  with  that 
affair,  and  declared  his  readiness  to  swear  that  he  was  Tom  Nixon. 
Sheriff  Everhart  also  acted  on  the  same  belief,  and  went  to  San 
Antonio  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  Underwood  for  Nixon.  The 
name  of  Bass  does  not  figure  conspicuously  in  the  controversy  which 
afterwards  sprung  up  in  regard  to  this  matter. 

Tom  Gerren  says  that  he  had  a warrant  in  his  pocket  for  the 
arrest  of  Underwood  on  another  charge,  and  that  was  his  object  in 
pursuing  him.  He  says  that  he  knew  that  Underwood  could  not  be 
the  man  who  was  known  in  the  robbery  as  Nixon,  because  Under- 
wood slept  at  Jim  Hall’s  ranche  in  Denton  county  on  the  16th  or 
17th  of  September  and  could  not,  therefore,  have  been  in  Nebraska 
on  the  15th.  | 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  harmonious  action  and  shrewd  man- 
agement would  have  resulted  in  the  arrest  of  all  the  party.  But 
the  officers  did  not  act  in  unison.  One  or  two  prostitutes  were  let 
into  the  secret,  which  helped  to  mix  matters  much.  In  the  mean- 
time Capt.  Lee  Hall  was  telegraphed  to  hurry  up  with  his  rangers. 
But  Bass  was  not  the  man  to  be  captured  by  any  such  hesitating 
methods,  and  suddenly  he  and  his  associates  vanished. 

The  newspaper  controversy  between  Everhart  and  Gerren  in 
regard  to  their  failure  to  make  the  capture  has  been  extensively 
published  and  to  that  public  opinion  is  referred  for  a settlement 
of  the  question  as  to  who  played  a bad  part. 

Bass  and  party  soon  returned  again  to  Denton  where  they  re- 
mained sometime  as  will  be  seen  further  on. 

A freebooter,  with  ten  thousand  dollars  in  ready  cash  at  his 
command,  is  apt  to  prove  a great  demoralizer  to  any  community 
not  steeled  in  moral  integrity.  As  he  passes  here  and  there  among 
his  friends  and  neighbors,  with  a pocket  full  of  gold  pieces  which 
he  deals  out  with  a free  hand,  buying  without  pricing  and  loaning 
without  hesitation,  he  soon  becomes  such  a convenience  and  de- 
sideratum that  men  of  easy  morals  and  scant  conscience  do  not 
care  to  see  him  driven  out  of  the  country  or  lugged  off  to  jail. 


26 


Life  and  Adventures 


This  proved  true  of  Bass’  stay  in  Denton  county.  His  gold  made 
him  many  friends.  “He  was  always  so  kind  and  obliging”  that 
they  were  “ready  to  do  almost  anything  for  him.”  No  greater 
curse  ever  befell  that  county  than  this  stolen  gold.  It  brought  re- 
proach to  the  whole  people,  ruin  to  individuals,  and  sorrow  to 
many  homes.  It  was  an  evil  which  the  thousands  of  good  people 
who  live  there  still  deeply  deplore,  an  evil,  too,  which  it  will  re- 
quire years  to  eradicate  from  the  young  and  susceptible  mind. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

TEXAS  TRAIN  ROBBERIES 

Allen  Station  Robbery — “Your  Money  Or  Your  Brains” — Pistol 
Practice  at  Short  Range  and  Wild  Aim — Go  ng  Through  the 
Express  Car — Capture  of  Ora  of  the  Band — His  Trial  and 
Conviction — While  There  Is  Law  There  Is  Hope. 

We  come  now  to  one  of  the  most  daring  series  of  train  robberies 
which  ever  disgraced  this  country.  The  deeds  of  the  old  highway- 
men, who  used  to  stop  unwary  travelers  at  some  lonely  place  in  the 
road  and  rifle  their  pockets  pale  into  utter  insignificance  before  the 
high-handed  acts  of  these  modern  bandits  who  dare  step  upon  the 
iron  track  of  commerce,  stop  the  rushing  engine,  plunder  express 
and  mail  cars,  while  the  officers  stand  pale  and  trembling  before 
the  muzzle  of  a cocked  revolver,  and  a whole  train  of  terrified 
passengers  sit  shivering  in  their  seats  until  the  bold  transactioin  is 
over.  For  outrageous  audacity  and  cool  and  deliberate  proceedings 
the  Texas  robberies  have  never  been  surpassed  not  even  in  the 
notorious  carer  of  the  James  and  Younger  brothers,  nor  in  the  bold 
assaults  made  upon  Union  Pacific  trains.  Blow  after  blow  was 
struck,  even  when  it  was  known  that  the  officers  on  all  trains  were 
on  the  alert,  and  that  all  the  express  and  mail  cars  were  guarded  by 
heavily  armed  men. 

The  first  of  these  robberies  was  committed  at  Allen  Station,  a 
very  small  place  on  the  Houston  & Texas  Central  Railroad,  six 
miles  south  of  McKinney  and  twenty-four  miles  north  of  Dallas. 
This  robbery  occured  between  9 and  10  o’clock  on  the  n ght  of 
February  22nd.  When  the  South  bound  train  arrived  at  the  station 
it  was  immediatley  boarded  biy  four  masked  men,  one  of  whom 
leaped  upon  the  engine  and  in  a twinkling  had  the  engineer  and 
fireman  under  the  influence  of  a cocked  revolver.  The  other 


of  Sam  Bass 


27 


members  of  the  band  made  a rush  for  the  express  car  and  at- 
tempted to  enter  it,  but  were  repulsed  by  Mr.  J.  L.  A.  Thomas,  the 
messenger.  Mr.  Thomas  says  that  he  had  some  express  matter  for 
the  agent  at  that  place,  and  was  standing  in  the  door  of  the  car 
when  the  train  stopped.  The  masked  men  ordered  him  to  throw 
up  his  hands,  crying  out, . “Your  money  or  your  brains.”  He 
jumped  back  in  the  car  and  drew  his  pistol.  The  robbers  then 
began  firing,  he  returned  the  fire,  discharging  his  revolver  three  or 
four  times.  The  robbers  fired  several  shots  and  then  sprang  into 
the  car,  previously  threatening  to  burn  it  if  Thomas  did  not  sur- 
render. The  bell  rope  was  then  cut,  the  express  car  uncoupled 
from  the  rest  of  the  train  and  the  engineer  was  ordered  to  draw  it 
over  the  switch,  when  the  safe  was  rifled  of  its  contents.  The 
amount  secured  was  sad  at  the  time  to  be  $2500.  It  is  known  now 
that  it  was  nearly  $3,000. 

There  was  a large  number  of  passengers  on  board,  but  they 
considered  prudence  the  better  part  of  valor  and  made  haste  to 
stow  away  whatever  valuables  they  had  upon  their  persons,  all 
momentarily  expecting  tcx  see  the  robbers  coming  through  the  train. 
But  as  soon  as  they  had  finished  the  express  car  they  made  their 
escape,  moving  off  in  a westerly  direction. 

This  bold  deed  produced  much  excitement  all  along  the  line  of 
the  road.  Texas  had  seen  much  stage  robbing  and  many  deeds  of 
violence,  but  this  was  a kind  of  lawlessness  to  which  the  people  had 
not  become  habituated  and  did  not  care  to  see  successfully  inaug- 
urated. But  still  not  much  effort  was  made  to  capture  the  rob- 
bers, except  by  the  officers  of  the  Texas  Express  Company.  They 
at  once  institutd  a vigorous  pursuit,  and  on  February  27th  cap- 
tured Tom  Spotswood  at  what  he  called  his  cattle  ranche  on  Little 
Elm  Creek,  in  Denton  county.  This  arrest  was  effected  under  the 
leadership  of  Mr.  W.  K.  Cornish,  agent  at  Dallas,  and  Mr.  Thomas, 
the  messenger. 

Spotswood  was  taken  to  McKinney  where  he  had  a preliminary 
examination,  and  in  default  of  $2,500  bail,  he  was  remanded  to 
jail  to  await  his  trial  at  the  next  term  of  the  District  Court. 

The  trial  began  in  the  latter  part  of  June  and  ended  July  2nd. 
Mr.  Thomas,  the  express  messenger,  was  the  principal  witness 
against  Spotswood.  He  testified  that  one  of  the  men  who  entered 
the  car  on  the  night  of  the  robbery  was  not  masked,  and  this  man 
he  recognized  as  Tom  Spotswood,  the  prisoner.  He  said  that  he 
had  ample  opportunity  to  see  him,  as  Spotswood  held  a revolver  in 
his  face,  while  the  other  men  robbed  the  safe.  He  noted  his  pe- 
culiar appearance,  especially  his  glass  eye.  It  is  something  of  a 


28 


Life  and  Adventures 


question  how  straight  a man  can  see  with  a cocked  revolver  in 
his  face,  but  the  evidence  had  great  weight  with  the  jury. 

Mr.  Newman,  a saloon  keeper  at  Allen  station,  testified  that 
Spotswood  visited  his  saloon  the  day  before  the  robbery  and  asked 
him  whether  there  was  any  gaming  done  in  town,  and  said  that 
he  was  a sporting  man.  He  also  asked  at  what  hour  the  train  came 
from  the  North. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  prove  an  alibi.  Bill  Spotswood,  brother 
of  the  prisoner,  and  another  man  testified  that  Tom  slept  at  the 
house  of  the  former  on  the  night  of  the  robbery.  But  two  other 
witnesses  testified  that  they  met  Bll  Spotswood  and  h.s  com- 
panion in  the  woods  the  next  morning,  where  they  were  chop- 
ping wood,  and  they  said  they  had  not  slept  at  home  the  night 
before  becauses  they  couldln’t  get  across  the  creek.  The  jury 
returned  a verdict  of  guilty,  and  the  prisoner  was  sentenced  to  ten 
years  in  the  penitentiary.  But  since  then  he  has  obtained  a new 
trial.  If  he  lives  long  enough  to  wear  out  all  the  continuances 
which  the  laws  of  the  State  permit,  the  delays  which  the  lawyers 
ask,  and  gets  safely  over  the  frequent  “reversing  and  remanding” 
of  higher  courts,  he  may  go  ba.ck  to  his  cattle  ranche,  or  he  may 
join  some  of  the  boys  at  Huntsville.  But  these  are  things  which 
“no  fellow  can  find  out”  until  he  lives  long  enough. 

<$> 

CHAPTER  IX 

HUTCHINS  AND  EAGLE  FORD. 

Plan  of  Attack — Printers  to  the  Front — Brave  Express  Messenger 
— Facing  the  Bullets — A Slim  Haul — Great  Excitement — The 
Coolest  Robbery  on  Record — A Lost  Opportunity — Another  Fi- 
nancial Failure. 

Nearly  a month  passed  quietly  away  after  the  Allen  robbery 
and  the  public  began  to  feel  that  the  capture  of  Spotswood,  who  was 
regarded  as  the  chief  of  the  band,  had  put  an  end  to  the  desperate 
business.  But  on  the  night  of  March  18th  the  whole  country  was 
startled  by  the  intelligence  which  flashed  over  the  wires,  that  still 
another  train  had  been  successfully  captured  and  robbed.  This  act 
was  also  committed  on  the  Houston  & Texas  Central,  at  a small  sta- 
tion named  Hutchins,  ten  miles  south  of  Dallas.  The  train  selected 
for  the  attack  was  again  the  southbound  through  express  and  mail 
train  from  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  which  passed  the  station  about 
10  o’clock  at  night. 


of  Sam  Bass 


29 


The  following  account  of  the  robbery  appeared  in  one  of  the  daily 
papers  the  next  day: 

“The  robbers  understood  their  business  well,  had  evidently  planned 
the  assault  deliberately,  and  the  manner  of  its  execution  was  prompt 
and  effective.  They  first  took  into  their  possession  the  railroad 
agent  at  Hutchins  and  a negro,  then  the  engineer  and  fireman  of 
the  train.  They  also  captured  two  tramp  printers  from  Dallas,  who 
were  stealing  a ride  on  the  front  of  the  locomotive,  and  added  them 
to  the  crowd. 

“This  squad  they  marched  in  front  of  them  to  the  express  car 
door,  so  that,  should  the  messenger  on  board  the  car  fire,  the  dis- 
charge would  take  effect  not  on  the  robbers  but  on  the  innocent 
agent,  negro,  fireman  and  engineer,  or  puncture  the  valuable  epi- 
dermis of  the  newspaper  fraternity.  The  messenger  barred  the 
car  doors  and  extinguished  the  lights,  but  the  robbers  soon  burst 
asunder  the  door.  The  messenger  then  fired  into  the  mob,  with 
what  effect  is  not  known,  but  the  fire  was  returned  and  the  messen- 
ger wounded  in  the  face.  One  of  the  printers  also  received  a wound 
in  one  of  his  limbs,  which  for  the  present  will  operate  as  a serious 
check  to  his  perambulatory  tendencies. 

“Messenger  Thomas,  being  wounded  and  seeing  the  futility  of 
attempting  any  further  resistance,  surrendered  to  the  mob.  The 
safe  was  rifled  of  its  contents  and  the  mail  car  ransacked  for  what- 
ever plunder  the  robber's  saw  fit  to  appropriate.  In  regard  to  the 
amount  of  money  obtained  in  the  express  car  there  are  several  ru- 
mors. One  is  that  they  only  obtained  a small  amount,  the  express 
messenger  having  secreted  the  bulk  of  money  and  valuables  in  the 
stove  while  the  lights  were  out.  Another  rumor  is  to  the  effect 
that  they  obtained  several  thousand  dollars.  Messenger  Thomas 
continued  on  his  route  as  far  as  Corsicana,  where  he  stopped  off  on 
account  of  his  wound. 

“Mr.  Thomas  is  a brother  of  the  agent  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
car  that  was  robbed  some  time  ago  at  Allen  station.  (He  was  after- 
wards rewarded  by  the  company  for  his  bravery.) 

“Word  of  the  robbery  was  dispatched  in  all  directions,  but  up  to 
noon  today  no  trace  of  the  daring  scoundrels  had  been  obtained 
Marshal  Morton,  of  this  city,  with  several  members  of  the  police 
force,  kept  a lookout  all  last  night,  but  their  watching  resulted  in 
nothing  satisfactory.  The  marshal  rode  about  thirty-five  miles  last 
night,  taking  in  Hutchins  and  the  adjacent  country. 

“The  passengers  on  board  the  train  were  not  molested.  The 
robbers,  it  is  said,  after  transacting  their  business,  took  off  toward 
Trinity  Bottom,  but  efforts  to  track  them  in  that -direction-- for- any 
great- distance  failed.  - - ‘ j j.vv  ic«  j&rj 


30 


Life  and  Adventures 


“Later  reports  confirm  the  statement  that  the  train  robbers  se- 
cured but  a small  amount  of  money,  probably  not  over  $300.” 

The  great  drought  prevailing  at  that  time  made  it  impossible  to 
follow  the  trail  of  the  robbers,  and  active  search  for  them  was  soon 
given  up.  It  was  wholly  unknown  at  the  time  who  they  were,  whence 
they  had  come  or  whither  they  went. 

Matters  were  now  beginning  to  wear  a serious  aspect.  The  repe- 
tition of  such  acts  was  bringing  disgrace  upon  the  State,  the  travel- 
ing public  was  becoming  alarmed,  while  the  express  and  railroad 
companies  were  put  to  heavy  expense  to  protect  their  property.  As 
no  clue  to  the  robbers  had  been  obtained,  and  as  no  great  effort 
was  made  by  the  State  authorities  to  ferret  them  out  and  effect 
their  capture,  it  was  feared  that  they  might  at  any  time  strike  an- 
other blow. 

These  fears  were  soon  realized.  This  time  the  blow  fell  upon  the 
Texas  & Pacific  Railroad,  at  Eagle  Ford,  a small  station  six  miles 
west  of  Dallas.  This  robbery  was  one  of  the  best  planned  and  most 
cooly  perpetrated  crimes  ever  committed.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  believe  that  the  masked  men  who  moved  about  the  train  as  de- 
liberately as  employes  of  the  road  engaged  in  the  ordinary  opera- 
tions of  the  track,  were  actually  robbers  coolly  plundering  cars  in 
the  presence  of  the  train  men,  the  express  company’s  guards  and  a 
score  or  so  of  passengers. 

The  attack  was  made  on  the  night  of  April  4th,  and  was  reported 
as  follows  the  next  day: 

“The  western  bound  train  was  robbed  last  night  at  11:30,  at 
Eagle  Ford,  by  four  masked  men.  The  train  from  the  east,  on  the 
Texas  & Pacific  Railroad,  passed  through  Dallas  last  night  a few 
minutes  after  11  o’clock.  It  arrived  at  Eagle  Ford,  six  miles  west 
of  Dallas,  about  thirty  minutes  past  eleven.  As  the  depot  agent  for 
the  Express  Company,  came  out  of  his  office  he  saw  a man  come 
round  the  corner  of  the  depot  upon  the  platform  with  a pistol  in  his 
hand  closely  followed  by  two  other  men.  The  first  one  presented 
his  pistol  at  the  agent  and  kept  him  quiet  until  the  other  two  ar- 
rested the  engineer  and  fireman,  whom  they  brought  round  to  where 
the  agent  and  first  man  were  standing.  The  fourth  man  was  placed 
near  the  passenger  coach  with  a view,  it  is  supposed,  to  prevent  the 
approach  of  the  passengers.  The  agent,  engineer  and  fireman  were 
then  placed  in  front  of  the  express  door,  two  of  the  robbers'  (one 
standing  at  either  end  of  the  men  under  guard),  covering  them  with 
their  pistols,  while  the  leader  ordered  the  local  agent  to  ask  the  mes- 
senger to  open  the  door. 

“The  messenger  refused  to  open  the  door  when  the  leader  took  a 
Stick  of  wood  and  broke  the  door  in.  On  the  express  car — so  we 


of  Sam  Bass 


31 


are  informed  by  Col.  C.  T.  Campbell,  the  Superintendent  of  the 
Express  Company — were  the  messenger  and  a man  lately  hired  as 
guard.  The  guard  had  a shot-gun  and  the  messenger  his  pistol. 
Neither  made  any  attempt  to  fight  so  far  as  we  can  learn.  They 
were  both  ordered  out  and  into  line  with  the  other  prisoners.  Then 
the  leader,  with  the  express  messenger  following,  entered  the  car 
and  the  safe  was  opened.  The  amount  taken  from  the  express  will 
not  exceed  fifty  dollars.  The  mail  car  was  also  robbed  of  several 
registered  packages,  but  the  amount  received  from  this  source  we 
are  unable  to  ascertain. 

“We  are  indebted  to  Col.  Campbell  for  the  information  above. 
We  also  met  Mr.  Ely,  who  checks  baggage  on  the  train,  who  in- 
formed us  that,  observing  the  delay,  he  went  out  with  the  conductor, 
when  they  were  arrested  and  held  under  guard  by  one  of  the  rob- 
bers. He  says  when  the  robbers  left  they  retreated  with  their  guns 
cocked  and  presented  and  facing  the  parties,  in  readiness  for  an 
attack.  They  went  in  a northwesterly  direction.” 

Had  the  guard  and  messenger  made  good  use  of  their  weapons 
on  this  occasion,  two  of  the  robbers,  at  least,  would  never  have  rode 
away  in  the  darkness  again. 


CHAPTER  X 

ROBBERS’  FASTNESS 

Light  Breaking — The  Hiding  Place  Discovered — Thick  Forests  and 
Sympathizing  Friends — Dallas  Detectives  in  Denton — Asleep  in 
the  Woods — The  Bandits  Challenge  Their  Pursuers  to  Come  Out 
and  Fight — Robbers’  Pranks — Getting  the  Drop  on  an  Officer. 

The  Eagle  Ford  robbery  greatly  increased  public  excitement  and 
aroused  an  intense  determination  to  capture  the  hidden  bandits  at 
all  hazards. 

As  yet  the  State  authorities  had  taken  no  action  except  to  offer  a 
reward  of  five  hundred  dollars  each  for  the  capture  of  the  guilty  par- 
ties. Stimulated  by  the  hope  of  securing  this  reward  and  the  desire 
to  rid  the  country  of  such  dangerous  outlaws,  a few  private  individ- 
uals, whose  names  will  appear  hereafter,  made  an  earnest  effort  to 
follow  the  robbers  to  their  hiding  place. 

Great  effort  was  also  made  by  the  officers  of  the  Texas  Express 
Company  to  ferret  out  the  bandits.  This  effort  was  attended  with 
such  success  that  a few  days  after  the  Eagle  Ford  robbery^  they 


32 


Life  and  Adventures 


lieved  themselves  in  possession  of  a full  knowledge,  not  only  of 
the  whereabouts  of  the  robbers,  but  also  of  their  names.  But  they 
were  also  convinced  that  their  capture  by  any  means  at  their  hand, 
or  by  civil  process,  would  be  well  nigh  impossible  and  that  the  aid 
of  the  State  administration  must  be  called  into  requisition.  They 
determined,  therefore,  to  appeal  at  once  to  the  Governor  for  assist- 
ance and  to  afford  a proper  justification  to  public  opinion  for  the 
movement,  they  called  upon  the  managing  editor  of  the  Dallas 
Commercial  and  requested  a full  publication  of  all  the  facts  which 
they  had  discovered  and  the  conclusions  to  which  they  had  come 
after  a long  and  expensive  investigation.  The  request  was  com- 
plied with  and  the  article  at  once  appeared,  on  Tuesday  following 
the  Eagle  Ford  robbery.  As  this  article  threw  much  light  on  a 
question  then  wrapped  in  doubt  and  mystery  and  turned  public  at- 
tention to  the  hiding  place  of  the  robbers,  and  as  its  statements 
have  been  proven  almost  absolutely  true  by  subsequent  develop- 
ments, we  give  it  below: 

ROBBERS’  FASTNESS. 

Hiding  Place  of  the  Train  Robbers  Discovered. — The  Band  is  Located 

in  Denton  County — Local  Authorities  Powerless — Nothing  But  An 

Armed  Force  Can  Break  Up  the  Gang. 

“After  a most  thorough  investigation  of  all  the  circumstances  at- 
tending the  late  railroad  robberies  and  a careful  following  up  of 
every  clue,  the  detectives  are  fully  convinced  that  the  band  of  rob- 
bers who  perpetrated  these  daring  deeds  are  located  in  Denton  coun- 
ty. The  direction  taken  by  the  band  in  the  three  successive  rob- 
beries establish  the  correctness  of  this  conclusion,  beyond  a doubt. 
The  band  which  robbed  the  train  at  Allen  moved  off  in  the  direction 
of  Denton  county,  and  shortly  afterwards  Spotswood,  who  is  now 
believed  by  all  the  detectives  to  have  been  the  leader  of  the  gang, 
was  arrested  there. 

“When  the  train  was  waylaid  at  Hutchins,  the  roads  were  so  dry 
and  hard  that  it  was  impossible  to  track  the  gang,  but  the  indications 
were  that  they  also  went  in  the  same  direction.  But  the  next  morn- 
ing after  the  affair  at  Eagle  Ford  a hot  track  was  found  and  the 
maskers  were  followed  directly  to  their  present  hiding  place. 

“The  fastness  in  which  these  highwaymen  have  each  time  success- 
fully taken  refuge  is  an  extensive  tract  of  woodland,  full  of  under- 
growth and  very  difficult  of  ingress.  It  is  described  as  a place  where 
a man  could  live  for  a year  and  nobody  ever  see  him.  This  forest 
contains  many  log  cabins  standing  among  the  trees  and  in  such  iso- 


of  Sam  Bass 


I 


33 


lated  places  that  nothing  but  a long  search  can  discover  them.  It 
is  believed  that  there  are  many  good  people  among  the  inhabitants, 
but  fear  of  their  desperate  neighbors  compels  them  to  keep  their 
lips  closed.  | 

“But  many  of  the  people  are  thought  to  be  more  or  less  in  sympa- 
thy with  the  gang.  Their  houses  are  always  open  to  them,  and 
when  compelled  to  stay  in  the  woods,  they  carry  them  meals  and  act 
as  spies  for  them.  A detective  fully  acquainted  with  the  character 
of  the  people  says  there  are  women  among  them  who  would  ride 
fifty  miles  in  a night  to  warn  one  of  the  gang  of  approaching  danger. 
It  is  said,  too,  that  they  have  couriers  scattered  through  all  the 
neighboring  country,  who  keep  them  constantly  informed  of  every 
movement  of  the  authorities.  Some  of  these  couriers  are  supposed 
to  be  here  in  Dallas,  and  constantly  act  as  spies  to  gather  and  report 
the  sentiments  of  the  people. 

“They  are  also  believed  to  have  regular  lines  and  stations  extend- 
ing as  far  west  as  Palo  Pinto  and  northwest  to  the  Indian  Territory. 

“As  is  well  known,  Bass,  Underwood  and  Jackson,  who  were 
implicated  in  the  Union  Pacific  robbery,  live  in  Denton  county 
Underwood  alias  Nixon,  was  arrested  some  time  since  and  taken  to 
the  scene  of  the  robbery  for  trial.  But  two  weeks  ago  he  made  his 
escape  and  is  now  at  home  again.  Not  long  since  this  gang  went 
into  the  town  of  Denton,  and  hearing  that  the  authorities  were 
trying  to  capture  them,  they  retired  to  a mill  near  the  town  and 
sent  word  to  the  officers  and  the  whole  town  of  Denton  to  come  out 
and  take  them. 

“To  show  the  difficulty  of  capturing  the  desperadoes  in  their 
present  hiding  place  by  a posse  of  civil  officers,  it  is  related  that  a 
few  days  since  two  or  three  citizens  were  passing  through  the 
woods  and  upon  firing  a pistol  they  heard  an  answering  shot,  and 
repairing  to  the  spot  they  suddenly  found  themselves  confronted 
by  several  men  who  stood  behind  trees  with  Winchester  rifles  lev- 
eled at  them  and  ready  to  pull  the  trigger. 

“The  authorities  of  Denton  county  confess  their  inability  to 
capture  the  gang. 

“There  is  now  no  doubt  that  all  the  robberies  werd  perpetrated 
by  the  same  gang.  At  Allen  there  were  five  robbers,  at  Hutchins 
and  Eagle  Ford  there  were  but  four — Spotswood  having  been  ar- 
rested in  the  meantime.  It  is  also  fully  believed  that  the  same 
parties  perpetrated  the  stage  robberies  and  other  deeds  of  daring 
in  western  counties. 

“In  each  case  they  were  traced  in  the  direction  of  the  Denton 
county  rendezvous.  It  is  to  be  feared,  too,  that  they  will  next 
make  raids  upon  neighboring  cities,  probably  going  through  a 


34 


Life  and  Adventures 


bank  or  two,  and  startling  the  whole  country  with  their  bold 
burglaries. 

“The  Texas  Express  and  Railroad  Companies  have  spent  large 
sums  of  money  in  ferreting  out  the  robbers,  and  the  duty  now  de- 
volves upon  the  State  to  arrest  or  break  up  the  gang. 

“Detectives  can  do  no  more,  for  they  have  traced  the  robbers 
to  their  hiding  place,  and  can  almost  name  the  guTty  parties. 
The  local  authorities  are  powerless  to  capture  the  robbers,  there- 
fore the  matter  should  at  once  be  taken  in  hand  by  our  State  au- 
thorities and  a sufficient  force  should  be  sent  into  Denton  to  arrest 
the  guilty  parties  or  drive  them  out  of  the  country. 

The  companies  are  now  compelled  to  keep  a heavily  armed  guard 
on  all  leading  trains.  This,  of  course,  involves  them  in  a very  heavy 
expense.  The  additional  expense  of  the  Express  Company  alone  is 
said  to  be  a hundred  dollars  per  day.  As  these  companies  are 
engaged  in  legitimate  business,  they  should  be  protected  by  the 
State,  no  matter  what  the  expense.  The  state  of  Texas  must  protect 
all  its  commercial  business  or  it  might  as  well  quit.  If  desperadoes 
defy  local  authorities,  then  the  State  police  might  be  called  upon 
to  assist  in  the  enforcement  of  law.  The  name  of  the  State  is  suffer- 
ing greatly  from  these  repeated  ahd  daring  robberies. 

“The  news  of  each  successful  attempt  flashes  at  once  to  every 
town  and  city  in  the  country,  and  another  black  mark  is  scored 
against  Texas. 

“Every  good  citizen  deplores  this,  and  we  believe  that  the  Gov- 
ernor would  be  upheld  by  public  sentiment  in  a determined  effort 
by  means  of  the  State  police  to  break  up  this  desperate  gang.” 

This  article  was  extensively  quoted  by  State  exchange  and  re- 
published by  different  papers  throughout  the  West,  and  it  did  much 
to  direct  attention  to  the  guilty  parties. 

The  parties  mentioned  above  as  meeting  the  desperadoes  in  the 
woods  were  private  detectives  from  Dallas.  The  history  6f  the 
adventures  of  this  squad  in  Denton  country  is  as  follows:  The 
next  morning  after  Eagle  Ford  robbery  Samuel  Finley,  June  Peake, 
James  Curry  and  one  other  from  Dallas,  struck  a hot  trail  leading 
northward  from  the  railroad,  and  followed  it  to  the  Cross  Timbers 
in  Denton  country.  They  continued  through  the  timbers  towards 
Denton,  when  within  about  three  miles  of  that  place,  near  the  farm 
of  Capt.  B.  H.  Hopkins,  they  suddenly  came  upon  two  men  asleep 
in  the  woods.  They  had  ridden  past  them,  when  some  one  discover- 
ed the  men  and  their  horses  which  were  picketed  near  by.  The  men 
immediately  sprang  to  their  feet  and  fired  at  the  approaching  party. 
The  fire  was  returned  by  James  Curry,  but  no  one  was  hurt  on 
either  side.  A parley  then  ensued.  The  detectives  did  not  feel 


of  Sam  Bass 


35 


sure  of  their  men,  and  were  afraid  to  shoot  them  down  for  fear  of 
killing  innocent  parties.  While  they  were  maneuvering  with  a view 
to  ascertaining  who  the  men  were,  the  two  saddled  their  horses, 
sprang  upon  them,  raised  a whoop  and  dashed  through  the  woods. 
The  Dallas  party  supposing  that  the  remainders  of  the  gang  were 
near  did  not  pursue  them,  but  sent  for  more  force. 

Continuing  on  to  Denton,  they  stopped  at  the  Lacy  House  on 
Saturday  afternoon,  (once  the  home  of  Bass)  while  there  the  no- 
torious Sam  Bass  and  a number  of  his  associates  appeared  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  town  and,  according  to  one  statement,  rode  into 
the  city.  They  had  heard  that  the  Dallas  party  were  looking  for 
outlaws,  and  were  anxious  to  know  if  they  were  the  men  whom  they 
sought;  if  so,  they  would  like  to  have  them  come  out  and  try  and 
take  them.  Messengers  galloped  back  and  forth  between  the  excited 
and  defiant  crowd  and  their  friends  in  the  city.  Finally,  later  in 
the  evening  Bass  and  company  sent  a messenger  to  the  Dallas  men 
to  inform  them,  “that  they  would  remain  in  sight  of  them  for  two 
hours  and  a half,  and  challenged  them  to  come  out  and  fight.  They 
stood  near  the  residence  of  John  S.  Lovejoy,  Jr.,  (we  quote  from 
the  Denton  Monitor  of  a few  days  late)  in  the  eastern  suburbs  of 
the  city,  plain  to  view  from  the  public  square.  More  than  a hun- 
dred men  saw  them.” 

But  as  the  Bass  party  outnumbered  the  Dallas  squad,  they  did 
not  think  it  best  to  attempt  their  arrest  without  more  assistance. 
Whether  this  assistance  was  tendered  them  by  the  officials  of  Denton 
is  a question  which  we  do  not  care  to  discuss.  It  is  evident,  however, 
that  Mr.  Geo.  Smith,  City  Marshall,  made  an  attempt  to  raise  a 
posse  and  go  to  the  mill,  where  Bass  had  lodged  his  men  and  was 
breathing  out  defiance  to  every  man  from  Dallas,  but  failing  in 
this,  he  started  to  the  mill  alone,  and  was  afterwards  followed  by 
a few  others.  He  soon  returned  with  the  report  that  Bass  and  party 
had  skedaddled.  Sheriff  Eagan  also  offered  to  go  out  with  a posse 
if  the  detectives  would  loan  him  their  weapons,  which  they  declined 
to  do  for  the  reason  that  they  thought  they  had  particular  need 
of  them  themselves.  It  was  also  stated  afterwards  by  the  city  paper 
that  assistance  would  have  been  freely  given  to  make  the  arrests, 
if  the  detectives  had  furnished  the  proper  papers.  But  this  was 
impossible,  as  they  had  obtained  such  description  of  the  robbers  at 
Eagle  Ford  as  could  be  given  by  the  agent  and  train  men,  and  then 
followed  the  trail,  hoping  to  capture  the  men  who  answered  the 
description,  the  names  of  the  robbers  being  at  this  time  unknown  to 
them.  As  Sheriff  Eagan  afterwards  spent  many  weary  days  and 
nights  endeavoring  to  capture  these  same  men,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  if  he  had  felt  convinced  that  they  were  the  right  parties, 


36 


Life  and  Adventures 


he  would  freely  have  offered  his  assistance  to  make  the  arrest.  He 
has  the  reputation  of  a brave  and  efficient  officer  and  does  not 
hesitate  to  do  his  duty  when  he  sees  it  clearly. 

But  it  is  certain  that  the  citizens  of  Denton  were  greatly  in  the 
dark  at  this  time  in  regard  to  the  guilt  of  the  men,  who  were  thus 
audaciously  defying  pursuit  in  their  very  midst.  That  Bass  was 
one  of  the  Union  Pacific  robbers  was  generally  suspected,  and  to 
very  many  well  known.  For  he  had  covertly  admitted  as  much 
to  many  of  his  old  neighbors.  Why  he  was  not  arrested,  especially 
when  so  great  a reward  was  offered  for  him,  is  inexplicable.  But 
there  was  a stubborn  unwillingness  to  believe  that  Bass  and  his 
company  had  any  part  in  the  Texas  train  robberies.  Even  after  the 
above  developments  had  been  made  and  published,  we  find  the 
Denton  Monitor,  in  its  issue  of  April  13th,  declaring:  “There  is  no 
charge  against  any  of  this  party,  in  Denton  county,  except  Henry 
Underwood..  That  is  for  carrying  a pistol,  and  it  is  not  believed  he 
can  be  convicted  on  evidence.  And  it  is  not  believed  here  that  any  of 
this  party  participated  in  the  train  robbery  at  Eagle  Ford,  at  Allen  or 
at  Hutchins.  Certain  it  is  that  they  were  here  on  Thursday  night  of 
last  week  when  the  Eagle  Ford  train  robbery  occurred. 

An  explanation  of  this  last  statement  will  be  found  further  on, 
in  the  sketch  of  Jackson’s  career. 

The  status  of  the  band  and  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Denton  at 
this  time,  is  well  described  by  a correspondent  who'  writes  in  a 
letter,  dated  Denton,  April  11th: 

“Reports  about  the  railway  robbers  are  so  numerous  and  com- 
plicated that  it  would  take  a Philadelphia  lawyer  to  get  at  the  bot- 
tom facts;  so  I can  only  give  what  I’ve  heard,  and  leave  the  reader 
to  draw  his  own  conclusions.  Sam  Bass  is  the  reported  leader  of 
the  squad  now.  He  is  accused  of  the  Nebraska  train  robbery  and 
of  every  other  one  that  has  occurred  since. 

“I  have  seen  but  one  man  who  might  be  a robber,  and  he  is  said 
since  to  have  been  Bass,  and  he  was  certainly  well  prepared  for  a 
fight  when  I met  him  (having  a Spencer,  two  Colts  and  a knife,  and 
well  mounted),  about  four  miles  south  of  Denton,  last  Saturday 
morning.  He  approached  and  very  politely  asked  me  ‘if  I had  met 
any  armed  men?’  and  I told  him  no.  He  then  said  ‘some  fellows  had 
tried  to  steal  his  horse  that  morning  and  he  was  after  them,’  and 
rode  off.  I was  since  told  that  it  was  Bass,  and  that  he  that  day 
joined  his  party  and  went  to  the  mill  near  Denton,  and  sent  word  to 
the  party  from  Dallas,  and  all  concerned,  who  were  after  him,  that 
he  was  there  and  to  come  and  take  him. 

“The  range  of  the  Bass  party  in  Denton  and  the  region  that 
abounds  with  their  friends,  I hear,  lies  between  Pecan  and  Cooper 


of  Sam  Bass 


37 


creeks,  running  east  and  west  across  the  Cross  Timbers,  a distance 
of  ten  miles  long,  between  Hickory  and  Elm,  and  about  four  or 
five  miles  wide.  It  is  thickly  timbered,  and  they  can  go  over  the 
whole  distance  and  camp  most  anywhere  without  being  seen,  except 
by  friends.  They  do  not  confine  themselves  to  this  range,  but  go 
into  the  town  of  Denton  frequently,  at  night,  to  play  ten-pins,  drink, 
and  have  a good  time  generally — actually  getting  the  ‘drop’  upon 
an  officer  last  Friday  night  and  making  him — no  very  hard  job — 
drink  with  them,  and  leaving  another  friend  twenty  dollars  in  gold. 
They  have  committed  no  robberies  of  private  property  in  Denton 
county,  nor  do  they  molest  travelers  nor  any  persons  they  meet  on 
the  road,  and  are  reported  civil  to  all.  They  protest  their  innocence, 
but  swear  they  will  never  be  taken  alive,  and  the  one  I saw  looked 
as  if  he  was  ‘that  sort  of  a fellow.’  A gentleman  in  Denton  told 
me  that  either  Bass  or  Underwood  sold  $1,000  in  gold  to  a citizen 
not  long  ago,  and  said  he  knew  where  $8,000  more  was  buried. 
Bass  is  said  to  own  a saloon  in  Denton.  The  difficulties  the  Dallas 
party  have  labored  under  have  been  numerous.  A few  men,  in  a 
strange  country,  try  to  catch  desperate  men,  well  mounted  and  armed 
to  the  teeth,  and  knowing  every  inch  of  the  ground,  and  with  friends 
to  warn  them  and  furnish  them  the  latest  Dallas  and  other  papers 
regularly,  containing  the  latest  movements  and  designs. 

“The  good  people  of  Denton  have  no  sympathy  with  and  give  no 
aid  to  Bass  and  party,  but  what  .can  they  do,  scattered  as  they  are 
over  a thinly  settled  country?  They  feel  very  sore  over  the  hard 
things  said  of  them  by  some  of  the  Dallas  papers,  and  would  like  the 
writers  to  come  up  and  put  themselves  in  their  places  awhile  and 
have  their  families  and  then  take  all  out  upon  a lonely  plantation, 
in  the  timbers,  often  miles  from  a neighbor,  and  then  see  if  they 
would  like  to  tackle  or  to  capture  Bass  and  his  ‘horse  marines.’  That 
‘something  is  wrong  in  Denmark,’  when  men  accused  of  crime  can 
ride  heavily  armed  over  the  country  and  into  towns  without  being 
arrested,  can  send  word  where  they  are  and  soberly  defy  arrest 
no  one  can  deny,  but  that  does  not  cast  a reflection  upon  the  law- 
abiding  citizens  of  Denton  county,  who  are  powerless — scattered 
as  they  are,  and  having  among  them  men  who  will  aid  and  comfort 
the  robbers.” 

As  this  correspondent  well  says,  there  should  be  careful  discrim- 
ination between  the  law-abiding  people  of  Denton  and  the  lawless 
characters  and  disreputable  citizens  who  brought  discredit  upon 
the  county.  i 


38 


Life  and  Adventures 


CHAPTER  XIII 

TEXAS  BAND, 

Who  They  Were — Bass  The  Leader  And  “Conductor” — Frank  Jack- 
son  The  “Engineer” — A Dead  Man’s  Head  Cut  Off  In  Self  De- 
fense— Seaburn  Barnes — Henry  Underwood — Captured  For  Nix- 
on— Taken  To  Kearney,  Nebraska — Potency  Of  Stolen  Gold — 
File  and  Watch  Spring — A Six  Weeks  Job — Out  in  the  Air — 
Stealing  the  Judges  Horses — Across  the  Country — Arrival  in 
Bass’  Camp — Arkansas  Johnson — Young  Lady  Killed — Not  a Jim 
Crow  Thief — Playing  Engineer. 

Although  the  name  of  each  particular  individual  engaged  in  the 
different  robberies  was  not  fully  and  definitely  known  until  after 
the  brush  at  Mesquite,  yet  it  now  becomes  important  to  the  interest 
of  the  narrative  to  introduce  the  bandits  to  the  reader  without 
further  delay. 

Bass  was  the  leader  of  the  gang  in  all  the  robberies  and  was 
dubbed  “conductor”  by  the  squad,  because  he  always  went  through 
the  Express  and  mail  cars,  attending  in  person  to  the  safes  and 
mail  bags,  while  to 

FRANK  JACKSON 

was  assigned  the  important  duty  of  capturing  the  engineer  and 
fireman.  For  this,  reason  he  was  called  the  “Engineer.”  Being  a 
man  of  reckless  daring  and  cool  determination  he  accomplished 
his  task  with  remarkable  success,  as  all  the  robberies  well  attest. 

Jackson  is  a native  of  Decatur,  Wise  county,  Texas,  and  for  a 
time  was  considered  a respectable  young  fellow.  He  lived  with 
Dr.  Ross,  of  Denton,  a few  years.  Some  eighteen  months  ago  he 
got  into  a difficulty  with  a negro  on  the  prairies,  which  gave  him 
much  notoriety.  As  he  was  alone  with  his  victim,  there  is  no  ac- 
count of  the  tragedy  but  his  own  story.  He  says  that  the  negro 
stole  his  horse  and  when  he  demanded  his  return  the  fellow  show- 
ed fight,  he  then  shot  him  down.  He  at  once  reported  the  matter 
to  his  friends,  telling  them  that  he  had  “shot  a nigger.”  After 
talking  to  them  a little  while  he  said  he  didn’t  believe  that  he  had 
killed  him  and  would  go  and  finish  the  job.  He  returned  and  cut 
the  negro’s  head  off. 

For  this  act  he  was  brought  before  court  and  was  acquitted 
it  is  said,  on  the  ground  of  self  defense.  But  just  what  danger  his 
life  was  in  while  sawing  a badly  wounded  man’s  head  off,  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  see. 


of  Sam  Bass 


39 


After  this  hie  ranged  around  Denton  assocating  with  wild  fel- 
lows and  leading  a fast  life.  He  accompanied  Bass  and  Under- 
wood to  San  Antonio  last  December  and  was  believed  at  that 
time  and  later  to  have  been  connected  with  the  Big  Spring  rob- 
bery. It  was  currently  reported  in  Denton  during  the  Spring 
that  Bass  gave  him  one  hundred  dollars  per  month  to  go  with 
him  on  his  exploits.  But  this  is  not  well  substantiated. 

Jackson  is  believed  to  have  assisted  in  all  the  robberies  but 
that  of  Eagle  Ford.  At  the  requet  of  Bass  he  remained  in  Denton 
in  company  with  Henry  Underwood  on  the  night  of  April  4th, 
in  order  to  prevent  suspicion  and  make  the  people  believe  that 
the  gang  were  all  at  their  homes.  That  the  plan  succeeded  well, 
we  have  already  seen. 


SEABORN  BARNES 

according  to  the  best  authority  in  the  State,  was  in  all  the  rob- 
beries. The  same  authority  says  that  if  there  was  a white  feather 
in  the  gang,  the  plume  belonged  to  Barnes,  as  his  confederates 
stood  in  doubt  of  his  courage.  Barnes  was  a native  of  Tarrant 
county  and  of  respectable  parentage.  He  turned  cow-boy,  and 
then  strayed  off  among  “the  wild  fellows. ” Naturally  enough,  he 
fell  in  with  Bass  and  his  company. 

HENRY  UNDERWOOD 

is  generally  believed  to  have  been  “the  brains  of  the  crowd.”  He 
came  to  Denton  from  Missouri  six  or  seven  years  ago,  bringing 
with  him  his  family,  who  lately  resided  in  Wise  county.  He  set- 
tled on  a farm,  but  was  wild  and  associated  much  with  Bass  dur- 
ing his  career  as  a horse  racer.  He  was  once  arrested  by  Tom 
Gerren  for  cattle  stealing,  which  made  him  a sworn  enemy  of  the 
queer  Tom. 

Because  of  his  supposed  resemblance  to  Tom  Nixon,  he  was 
suspected  of  being  the  very  man  who  numbered  one  of  the  six  at 
Big  Spring,  and  who  fled  with  Berry.  Learning  that  the  officers 
were  in  pursuit  of  him,  he  fled  to  San  Antonio,  where,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  the  officers  followed  him,  but  failed  to  effect  his  cap- 
ture on  account  of  a misunderstanding  among  themselves.  After 
escaping  from  the  Alamo  city  he  returned  across  the  country  in 
company  with  Bass  to  his  home  in  Denton,  whither  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  Sheriff  Everhart,  of  Sherman,  and  Pinkerton’s  detec- 
tives, and  was  finally  captured  during  the  last  week  in  December. 
As  he  was  known  to  be  a daring  and  desperate  fellow,  his  cap- 
ture was  considered  a very  hazardous  undertaking.  But  learning 
his  exact  whereabouts,  the  officers  surrounded  the  house,  closed 
in  on  it  pistol  in  hand  and  covered  their  man  with  the  deadly 


40 


Life  and  Adventures 


shooting-irons  before  he  could  make  his  escape  or  offer  successful 
resistance.  He  was  at  once  taken  to  Omaha  where  he  was  confronted 
by  the  detective  Leech,  of  Ogalalla,  who  was  with  the  robbers  the 
night  they  divided  the  gold  captured  at  Big  Spring.  Leech  was 
in  grave  dought  about  the  prisoner’s  identity,  and  inclined  to  the 
belief  that  they  had  the  wrong  man.  But  Tony  Waits,  who  seems 
to  have  engineered  the  matter,  declared  positively  that  Underwood 
was  none  other  than  the  notorious  Nixon.  Underwood  admitted 
that  he  knew  Collins  and  Heffridge,  and  that  he  had  recently  been 
with  Bass,  but  stoutly  denied  that  he  was  Nixon,  or  that  he  had 
anything  to  do  with  the  robbery. 

He  was  then  taken  to  Ogalalla  for  identification  by  several  parties 
who  knew  the  robbers.  Their  opinion  being  somewhat  against 
him,  he  was  taken  to  Kearney,  Buffalo  county,  Neb.,  and  lodged  in 
jail. 

Shortly  after  his  incarceration  there,  Bass,  with  his  usual  lib- 
erality, sent  him  a hundred  dollars.  He  gave  seven  dollars  of  this 
money  to  a discharged  prisoner  as  he  left  the  jail,  with  the  under- 
standing that  he  was  to  provide  him  some  means  of  escape.  The 
fellow  was  faithful  to  his  promise,  and  returned  with  a file.  With 
this  and  a watch  spring  he  worked  upon  the  hard  iron  for  six 
weeks,  and  was  at  last  rewarded  for  his  long  labor,  by  stepping 
out  into  the  fresh  air  of  night  a free  man.  Arkansas  Johnson,  who 
was  confined  in  the  same  jail,  escaped  with  him. 

The  two  repaired  at  once  to  the  stables  of  the  district  judge, 
took  a pair  of  his  best  horses  and  galloped  away  towards  the  south. 
When  morning  .came  they  were  far  out  of  reach,  and  after  a hard 
ride  of  sixteen  days  they  neared  Underwood’s  old  tramping  ground 
in  Denton.  Bass  had  by  some  means  obtained  intelligence  of 
their  escape  and  of  their  expected  arrival.  He  mounted  his  horse 
and  rode  away  to  meet  them.  His  search  for  them  proved  suc- 
cessful, and  on  Sunday  evening,  March  31st,  just  four  days  before 
the  Eagle  Ford  robbery,  he  conducted  them  safely  into  his  camp. 
Here  the  lucky  Underwood  was  received  with  the  wildest  enthu- 
siasm by  his  old  companions  in  dissipation. 

It  has  been  strongly  hinted  that  the  capture  of  Underwood  for 
Nixon  was  a put  up  job  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  large 
reward  which  was  offered  for  the  capture  of  the  fated  Berry’s 
more  fortunate  companion.  But  there  is  not  much  ground  for 
this  charge,  for  the  reason  that  Pinkerton’s  detectives  are  not  al- 
lowed to  receive  rewards,  but  are  paid  per  diem.  The  detectives 
were  apparently  persuaded  that  they  had  the  right  man.  As  for 
Sheriff  Everheart,  he  simply  effected  the  arrest  on  the  papers  pre- 
sented. That  he  received  a good  recompense  for  his  trouble,  and 
justly,  too,  there  is  no  doubt. 


of  Sam  Bass 


41 


ARKANSAS  JOHNSON 

was  a stray  member  of  the  Texas  band,  coming1  in  towards  the 
last.  But  as  he  played  an  important  part  in  the  later  history  of 
the  gang,  he  is  placed  among  them. 

Of  his  former  life  but  little  is  known.  According  to  the  best 
information  obtainable  by  detectives,  his  true  name  was  John 
McKeen,  his  home  in  Johnson  county,  Mo.  His  father  lives  near 
Knob  Noster,  Mo.  He  was  suspected  by  the  detecives  of  being 
connected  with  the  Union  Pacific  robbery,  and  search  was  at  onde 
instituted  for  him.  He  was  discovered  at  Otterville,  but  made  his 
escape.  Afterwards  he  was  traced  to  his  father's  house  in  John- 
son county.  In  the  attempt  made  to  arrest  him  his  sister  was 
shot  and  killed,  but  he  escaped.  Afterwards  he  was  captured  and 
thrown  into  jail  at  Kearney.  His  own  account  of  this  matter,  as 
given  in  Sam  Bass’  camp,  was  that  he  was  arrested  for  stealing 
lumber. 

When  he  first  appeared  in  camp  he  was  received  with  ill  favor 
by  the  members  of  the  gang,  even  Bass  himself  is  said  to  have 
had  a very  poor  opinion  of  him.  Some  of  the  boys  said  he  was 
nothing  but  a little  “Jim  Crow  thief,”  and  should  never  be  admit- 
ted into  the  tony  society  of  a band  engaged  in  stopping  the  wheels 
of  commerce  and  plucking  plunder  from  rich  corporations.  (When 
Underwood,  and  his  influence  over  the  bold  leader  of  the  bandits 
was  very  great,  assured  him  that  he  was  all  right,  and  could  be 
trusted  to  play  his  part  well.)  That  Underwood’s  usual  sagac- 
ity did  not  fail  him  in  his  estimate  of  the  shabby  looking 
Missourian,  was  well  proven  afterwards.  The  Eagle  Ford  rob- 
bery occurred  on  the  following  Thursday  night  after  his  arrival  in 
camp,  and  as  Jackson,  “the  engineer,”  remained  at  home,  Johnson 
was  elected  to  fill  his  place  at  the  engine.  This  he  did  with  re- 
markable coolness  and  success,  capturing  the  engineer  and  fire- 
man and  bringing  them  around  in  front  the  express  car  in  a twinkl- 
ing. 

One  of  the  last  regrets  of  Bass  was  that  he  did  not  follow 
Johnson’s  advice  in  regard  to  two  very  important  matters.  But 
this  belongs  to  a later  chapter. 

Briefly  summoning  up,  we  find  that  the  Allen  Station  rob- 
bery was  committed  by  Bass,  the  leader,  Spotswood,  according  to 
the  sworn  testimony  of  the  Express  messenger  (Thomas),  Jack- 
son  and  Barnes. 

The  Hutchins  robbery  was  committed  by  Bass,  Jackson  and 
Barnes.  Green  Hill’s  name  has  also  been  mentioned  in  connection 


42 


Life  and  Adventures 


with  this  affair.  But  others,  who  were  in  Bass’  camp,  say  that  there 
were  but  three  in  the  gang. 

At  Eagle  Ford  were  Bass,  Arkansas  Johnson,  Barnes,  and  one 
other  who  is  still  unknown  to  the  authorities. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SPY  IN  CAMP 

The  Shadows  Falling — Scott  and  Collins  in  Denton — Making  Plans 
— Waiting  For  “An  Excitement” — The  Mesquite  Robbery  Ar- 
ranged— Tripped  Up  By  Time — Pipes  And  Herndon. 

At  the  time  of  the  advent  of  Underwood  and  Johnson  in  the 
camp  the  bandits  were  quartered  at  Bob  Murphy’s,  fourteen  miles 
beyond  Denton,  on  the  road  toward  Bolivar.  Here  they  slept  in 
the  barn  at  night  and  remained  in  the  woods  behind  the  field  dur- 
ing the  day,  where  the  time  was  whiled  away  playing  cards,  plan- 
ning future  robberies  or  rehearsing  old  adventures. 

On  Saturday  evening,  the  day  before  the  arrival  of  Under- 
wood, just  as  the  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  trees  and  the  shadows 
were  falling  heavily  upon  the  greensward,  two  young  men  entered 
the  camp,  one  of  whom  was  to  prove  the  evil  hand  of  destiny  to 
the  band.  This  was  Will  Scott,  of  Dallas,  a young  man  highly 
connected  in  that  .city.  The  other  was  William  Collins,  a brother 
of  the  fated  Joel  Colins,  who  was  killed  at  Buffalo  Station. 

Will  Scott  came  among  them  as  a spy,  to  effect  the  capture  of 
Bass.  As  he  furnished  the  greater  part  of  the  evidence  by  which 
some  of  the  guilty  parties  were  afterwards  brought  to  justice,  we 
give  his  story  substantially  as  it  was  related  in  his  sworn  testimony 
during  the  late  trial  at  Austin. 

Knowing  the  large  reward  which  had  been  offered  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Bass  for  his  connection  with  the  Union  Pacific  robbery, 
young  Scott  conceived  the  idea  of  effecting  his  capture  through 
strategy.  In  casting  about  for  the  means  of  effecting  his  purpose, 
it  occurred  to  him  that  something  might  be  accomplished  through 
William  Collins,  because  of  the  relationship  formerly  existing  be- 
tween Joel  Collins  and  Bass.  He  at  once  repaired  to  Collins’ 
house  and  there  learned  that  some  correspondence  had  already 
taken  place  between  Collins  and  the  Jackson’s.  He  found,  too, 
that  Collins  also  had  a scheme  of  his  own  in  view,  the  gist  of  which 


of  Sam  Bass 


43 


was  that  he  wanted  to  bring  Bass  and  his  companions  down  to 
Dallas  county  in  order  to  avenge  himself  on  some  Duck  Creek 
farmers  who  had  prosecuted  a number  of  the  young  men  in  the 
neighborhood  for  disturbing  a merry  party  of  dancers,  driving  all 
the  young  ladies  out  of  the  house  and  smashing  two  or  three  of 
the  young  gentlemen’s  heads.  The  affair  had  acquired  much  no- 
toriety, as  it  led  to  a libel  suit  with  the  Dallas  Commercial. 

The  two  at  once  started  for  Denton  county,  not  knowing  the 
exact  whereabouts  of  Bass,  but  believing  that  he  could  be  found. 
At  Denton  they  obtained  information  which  led  them  to  believe 
that  he  was  at  Bob  Murphy’s.  A letter  to  Murphy  was  secured 
from  a Denton  lawyer,  and  they  proceeded  on  their  journey. 
When  they  arrived  at  the  camp  they  found  Bass  absent  in  search 
of  Underwood.  But  Jackson  was  there  and  they  were  received 
without  disturb. 

Bass  returned  the  next  evening  and  various  plans  for  new  en- 
terprises were  talked  over  between  him  and  the  new  comers.  Scott 
proposed  the  robbery  of  a Dallas  bank,  and  a plan  to  rob  a bank 
at  Weatherford  was  also  considered. 

The  band  then  left  Murphy’s  and  rode  down  towards  Denton. 
While  on  the  way  some  parties  were  seen  coming  from  the  oppo- 
site direction.  Barnes  at  once  dropped  at  the  rear  and  lagged 
behind.  ‘‘Are  you  not  afraid  to  meet  people  in  this  way?”  said 
one  of  the  new  comers  to  the  robber  chief.  “Oh,  no,”  replied 
Bass,  “but  Barnes  back  there  always  gets  uneasy  and  wants  to  get 
out  of  the  way.” 

The  next  day  various  plans  were  again  discussed  and  finally 
Bass  told  them  that  when  they  heard  of  another  excitement  (mean- 
ing another  robbery)  they  should  return  and  he  would  go  into  some 
operation  with  them. 

Collins  and  Scott  left  them  a few  miles  below  Denton  and  re- 
turned to  their  homes. 

The  next  Thursday  night  the  Eagle  Ford  robbery  was  com- 
mitted, and  as  soon  as  Collins  heard  of  it  he  started  for  Denton. 
As  W3  have  already  seen,  Bass  and  his  men  were  galloping  around 
Denton  on  Saturday.  Collins  must  have  found  them  s'ome  place 
in  that  vicinty.  On  Sunday  a plan  for  another  robbery  was  dis- 
cussed and  it  was  finally  agreed  to  try  still  another  train,  tirs 
time  at  Mesquite,  a small  station  on  the  Texas  & Pacific  Railroad, 
a few  miles  east  of  Dallas. 

During  Monday  and  Monday  night  the  party  found  their  way 
to  William  Collins’  house,  situated  in  Dallas  county,  some  twelve 
or  fourteen  miles  east  of  the  city  of  Dallas.  On  Tuesday  young 
Scott  set  out  again  for  a visit  to  Collins,  to  see  what  he  was  going 


44 


Life  and  Adventures 


to  do,  now  that  “the  excitement”  had  been  heard  of.  He  found 
that  Collins  had  already  been  to  Denton  and  that  the  whole  band 
were  right  there. 

It  was  now  Tuesday  evening,  and  that  night  was  set  for  the 
robbery.  Collins  had  been  to  Mesquite  that  day  and  pronounced 
everything  all  right.  Bass’  party  consisted  of  himself,  Jackson, 
Barnes,  Underwood  and  Arkansas  Johnson.  To  these  had  been 
added  Sam  Pipes  and  Albert  Herndon,  two  yong  men  who  had 
lived  in  the  neighborhood  for  some  two  weeks,  working  upon  the 
farm  by  day  and  having  a wild  time  at  night.  They  both  figured 
in  the  assault  upon  the  dancing  party. 

After  nightfall  the  party  mounted  their  horses  and  set  out  for 
Mesquite,  William  Collins  accompanying  them.  But  as  the  train 
was  late,  and  as  they  reached  the  station  a little  after  the  regular 
time  for  it  to  pass,  they  thought  it  had  already  gone  by  and  returned 
to  Collins’  place.  Here  they  concealed  themselves  during  Wednes- 
day. When  night  came,  a parley  ensued  as  to  who  should  go,  Bass 
objecting  to  so  large  a party.  He  said  that  the  booty  was  likely  to 
be  small  at  best  and  would  not  reward  a large  crowd.  He  also 
said  he  would  rather  have  his  new  friends  act  as  outside  men;  that 
they  could  do  more  good  in  that  capacity  than  by  going  under 
fire.  William  Collins  mounted  his  horse,  but  finally  yielded  to  the 
chief’s  persuasion  and  got  down.  Henry  Collins  was  all  the  time 
averse  to  having  anything  to  do  with  the  affair,  and  besought  Pipes 
to  the  last  not  to  go,  telling  him  that  that  night  would  not  end  the 
matter;  that  a day  might  come  when  this  expedition  would  prove  a 
sad  affair.  But  Pipes  was  “train  struck”  and  would  listen  to  no 
reason.  It  is  said  that  he  formerly  lived  in  Missouri  near  the  ren- 
dezvous of  the  James  and  Younger  brothers  and  that  evil  shadows 
had  fallen  across  the  bright  beams  of  childhood  fancy.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  himself  and  Herndon  accompanied  the  band,  making  seven 
in  all.  This  turn  in  affairs  relieved  Scott  from  all  necessity  of  par- 
ticipating in  the  affair. 


45 


of  Sam  Bass 

CHAPTER  XI 

MESQUITE. 

A Sharp  Fight — Brave  Conductor — Firing  From  Underneath  The 
Train  — Convict  Guards  Empty  Their  Shot-Guns  — Passengers 
Flat  on  the  Floor  — A Woman  Who  Wouldn’t  Hold  Up  Her 
Hands  — Determined  Resistance  of  the  Messenger  — Threatened 
With  Fire — Car  Saturated  With  Coal  Oil — Surrender — -Wounded 
Robbers — Captain  Alvord. 

At  the  close  of  the  last  chapter  we  left  the  banditti  mounted  and 
ready  to  ride  away  under  cover  of  darkness  to  meet  the  evening 
train.  The  plan  of  the  robbery  seems  to  have  been  the  same  as  the 
one  previously  executed  with  so  much  success.  But  it  was  greatly 
disconcerted  by  the  bravery  of  the  conductor  and  express  messen- 
ger. The  near  presence  of  a conv'ct  contraction  train,  surrounded 
by  several  guards  armed  with  double-barreled  shotguns,  also  added 
much  to  the  confusion.  The  last  robbery  really  proved  the  only 
exciting  one  of  the  whole  series,  and  had  there  been  a few  more 
determined  men  on  board  the  train,  it  might  have  resulted  very 
disastrously  to  the  reckless  bandits.  From  the  reports  published 
next  day  and  from  subsequent  developments,  we  gather  the  follow- 
ing account  of  the  fight: 

“When  the  hour  for  the  train  arrived  the  robbers  stood  under 
cover  of  darkness  just  behind  the  depot.  Soon  the  roaring  sound 
of  the  cars  was  heard  and  a few  moments  later  the  train  was  seen 
rushing  in  from  the  east.  The  whistle  sounded  and  the  lo.comotive 
stood  at  the  depot.  Before  it  had  fairly  ceased  its  puffing  and 
snorting,  the  cry,  ‘hold  up  your  hands!  hold  up  your  hands!’  rang 
out  upon  the  air. 

“Captain  Julius  Alvord,  the  conductor,  who  was  on  the  sleeper, 
had  just  stepped  forward  to  the  front  passenger  car  and  on  to  the 
platform.  He  had  his  lantern  in  his  hand.  He  saw  some  parties 
near  him  who  called  to  him  to  come  to  them,  cursing  him  as  they  did 
so.  He  managed  to  put  out  his  lantern  as  soon  as  possible  and  step- 
ped on  to  the  car,  crossing  over  to  the  other  side  from  the  depot, 
he  went  imediately  to  the  sleeping  car  and  got  a larger  pistol.  He 
had  with  him  a small  derringer.  He  put  this  in  his  coat  pocket  and 
took  his  larger  pistol  in  his  hand,  went  to  the  rear  of  the  sleeper, 
and  opened  fire  on  his  enemies  with  the  pistol.  There  were  three 
parties  firing  on  him,  and  being  too  much  exposed  he  went  down 
the  steps  off  the  platform,  and  at  this  time  he  was  shot  through  the 
arm  and  a large  hole  shot  in  the  back  of  his  hat.  He  passed  between 


46 


Life  and  Adventures 


the  cars  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  car  from  the  robbers,  with  them 
still  firing  on  him.  The  engineer  here  attempted  to  start  the  train, 
but  was  stopped,  only  moving  a short  space.  Conductor  Alvord  then 
took  his  position  under  the  car  and  continued  his  firing.  From  this 
position  he  made  several  shots,  but  his  wound  became  so  painful 
he  came  out  and  re-entered  the  second-class  coach.  He  found  the 
passengers  flat  on  the  floor.  He  examined  his  wound  by  the  dim- 
light,  and  concluded  to  go  to  the  sleeper  and  have  it  bound  up. 
When  he  stepped  from  the  second  to  the  first-class  car,  several 
shots  were  fired  at  him.  He  looked  to  see  that  no  one  was  near 
when  he  came  out,  but  the  robbers,  while  they  were  not  in  sight, 
kept  shooting.  Before  entering  the  sleeper  he  stuck  his  head  out 
and  called  to  them,  and  asked  them  what  they  wanted.  They 
asked  him  who  he  was,  and  he  said,  ‘a  passenger.’  They  replied, 
‘we  want  money.’  They  cursed  him,  and  fired  on  him.  He  then 
went  into  the  sleeper.  His  wound  was  bleeding  profusely,  and 
he  took  a sheet  and  bound  up  his  arm  and  laid  down.  There  were 
in  the  sleeper  two  gentlemen  and  their  wives,  going  to  Fort  Worth. 
One  of  the  gentlemen  had  considerable  mony.  He  had  concealed 
it  in  different  part  of  the  car,  thinking  if  they  found  part  of  it 
he  would  still  have  some  left.  He  was  dressing;  was  very  cool; 
he  said:  ‘Conductor,  I have  a pistol,  can  I do  anything?  If  you 
say  so,  I will  go  out  and  try  them.’  Captain  Alvord  told  him  to 
remain  there  and  shoot  them  if  they  tried  to  come  in.  There  were 
about  twenty  passengers  on  board,  and  seven  of  them  were  ladies. 
No  one  else  offered  assistance.  Captain  Alvord  thought  he  hit  one 
of  the  men  with  his  second  shot,  as  he  fell  back  suddenly  to  a pile 
of  lumber  immediately  after  he  fired.  The  porter  also  heard  them 
talking  at  the  rear  of  the  sleeper,  and  thought  one  was  shot.  The 
porter  also  heard  hem  speak  of  Conductor  Alvord,  saying,  ‘He  is 
a brave  fellow,  it  would  be  too  bad  to  kill  him.’ 

“Mr.  D.  J.  Healey,  at  the  time  clerk  at  the  Windsor  Hotel,  in 
Dallas,  had  quite  a little  experience,  and  his  story  will  not  be  with- 
out interest:  He  left  the  city  at  5:10  going  east,  and  went  up 
to  Terrell,  where  he  met  the  western-bound  train.  When  near 
Mesquite  he  said  he  stepped  on  the  platform  so  as  to  gain  as  much 
time  as  possible.  He  wanted  to  see  the  agent  at  Mesquite,  who 
was  a personal  friend  of  his.  He  says  he  was  the  first  man  on 
the  platform;  that  he  got  off  before  the  train  stopped.  As  he 
stepped  down  he  saw  a man  step  on  the  platform  a short  distance 
off,  who  was  soon  followed  by  eight  or  ten  more.  He  started  for- 
ward and  the  first  man  made  for  him,  while  the  others  started  for 
the  express  car.  The  man  who  came  to  lfim  presented  his  pistol, 
and  told  him  to  come  on,  and  to  throw  up  his  hands.  He  took  in 


47 


of  Sam  Bass 


the  situation  at  once,  and  told  him  that  he  was  not  armed.  He 
did  not  follow  very  rapidly,  and  the  fellow  kept  curs' ng  him. 
The  robber  went  backwards,  and  he  followed  the  pistol.  The 
engineer  made  an  attempt  to  start  the  train;  Healey’s  guard 
became  excited  and  started  to  assist  the  others  to  stop  it,  hallooing 
‘don’t  let  them  get  away.’  He  took  advantage  of  the  absence 
and  took  $100  out  of  his  vest  pocket  and  put  it  in  his  boot. 
When  he  started  to  raise  up  from  doing  this  the  robber  came  on 
him  with  pistol  in  hand  and  again  ordered  him  to  follow.  He  started 
along  slowly,  keeping  his  eyes  on  the  man  in  front,  when  some 
one  came  behind  him  and  struck  him  on  the  side  of  the  head  with 
what  he  supposed  was  a pistol.  It  stunned  him  a little,  and  as  he  re- 
vived he  told  the  fellow  he  was  a coward.  He  looked  round  but  could 
not  tell  who  struck  him.  He  then  watched  his  chance  to  get  away. 
His  guard  soon  gave  him  an  opportunity  by  leaving  him  a few  paces, 
going  toward  the  express  car. 

He  whirled  and  ran,  and  the  robber  fired;  he  ran  east;  he  had 
run  a short  distance  when  he  looked  back  and  found  he  was  still 
pursued;  the  robber  again  fired,  and  then  returned  to  the  train. 
He  ran  along  the  road  until  he  came  to  the  construction  train 
where  the  convicts  were;  he  hid  under  the  train  and  stayed  there 
about  twenty  minutes,  when  he  approached  the  guards  on  the 
construction  train  and  told  them  what  was  up.  There  were  eleven 
guards  on  the  construction  train,  and  one  went  down  the  track 
and  encountered  a picket  from  the  robbers’  force.  The  robber 
fired  and  the  guard  returned  the  fire.  Healey  said  he  wanted  to 
get  to  the  train  but  could  not  tell  when  to  approach;  he  finally 
started,  but  before  he  reached  the  train  it  pulled  out  and  he  was 
left.  While  lying  under  the  construction  train  he  heard  the  sound 
of  horses’  feet,  at  the  same  time  the  robbers  were  still  firing 
around  the  train.  As  the  guards  who  had  charge  of  the  convicts 
could  not  leave  them  they  fired  a number  of  shots  from  their 
posts,  and  with  some  effect,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter. 

In  the  meantime  one  of  the  robbers  had,  as  usual,  taken  charge 
of  the  engineer  and  fireman  with  a cocked  revolver.  Another 
subdued  the  station  agent  by  the  same  means,  but  a woman  who 
lived  at  the  station,  proved  a much  more  refractory  subject.  In 
spite  of  all  comands  to  hold  up  her  hands,  to  stop,  etc.,  she  ran 
away  to  her  room  and  locked  herself  in.  “Conductor”  Bass  and 
two  of  his  confederates  repaired  at  once  to  the  Express  car  to 
“administer”  on  its  effects.  But  Mr.  Curley,  the  messenger,  was 
a very  determined  man  and  faithful  employe,  and  thought  he  could 
take  much  better  care  of  the  company’s  property  than  Conductor 
Bass  or  any  of  his  trusty  fellows.  When  commanded  to  open  the 


48 


Life  and  Adventures 


door  he  positively  refused  to  obey.  The  bandits  told  him  “that 
if  he  didn’t  open  it  they  would  break  it  in.”  He  told  them  to  “go 
ahead.”  But  as  the  shrewd  Bass  was  well  aware  that  the  brave 
Curley  and  a heavily  armed  guard  stood  within  with  cocked  re- 
volvers in  their  hands,  and  would  have  nothing  to  do  but  pull  the 
trigger  the  moment  he  showed  his  head,  he  thought  it  wise  not 
to  execute  his  threat.  He  then  shouted  to  them  that  if  they  didn’t 
draw  the  bolts  and  swing  back  the  door,  he  would  set  fire  to  the  car 
and  burn  them  up.  They  replied  that  they  wouldn’t  do  it.  Then 
a can  of  oil,  which  had  been  hidden  at  a convenient  place  under 
the  platform,  was  brought  out  and  the  car  saturated  with  oil. 
Bass  informed  the  messenger  what  he  had  done,  and  said  he  would 
give  him  just  two  minutes  to  surrender.  Knowing  the  desperate 
character  of  the  men,  Mr.  Curley  concluded  to  surrender.  The 
door  was  shoved  back,  and  the  robbers  entered  the  car.  After 
a hasty  and  almost  fruitless  search  they  retired.  The  mail  car  was 
also  visited  and  a few  registered  letters  were  taken  from  the  bags. 
The  whole  amount  of  money  secured  made  but  twenty-three  dollars 
apiece  for  the  seven  robbers. 

The  bandits  retreated  to  the  horses  which  were  hitched  near- 
by, and  mounted  and  rode  away. 

The  rapid  firing  had  awakened  some  of  the  citizens  living  near  by, 
and  one  or  two  approached  and  fired  at  the  assailants,  but  no 
one  thought  it  wise  to  attempt  to  pursue  them. 

Afterwards  it  was  learned  that  three  of  the  robbers  were  wounded 
in  the  fight.  Pipes  received  a shot  in  the  side,  which  proved  a 
very  damaging  fact  against  him  afterwards.  Underwood  and  Barnes 
were  both  wounded  in  the  limbs,  but  not  seriously.  The  former 
hurried  away  to  Denton,  but  the  latter  is  said  to  have  gone  to 
William  Collins’  place,  where  he  lay  for  a day  or  two  concealed 
in  a hay-stack. 

Captain  Alvord  continued  on  to  Dallas,  where  he  was  taken  to 
the  Windsor  Hotel  and  at  once  received  medical  treatment.  It 
was  found  that  the  ulna  of  the  left  arm  was  badly  shattered.  The 
wound  proved  verp  painful  but  not  dangerous.  On  examination 
of  his  hat,  it  was  found  that  a very  close  call  had  been  made  for 
his  head,  as  a large  piece  had  been  shot  out  of  the  back  part  of 
the  hat. 

Captain  Alvord  is  a single  man  about  thirty-five  years  old,  and 
was  born  in  New  York,  leaving  there  when  about  seventeen  years 
of  age.  Before  the  war  he  was  connected  with  the  0.  & M.  R.  R., 
and  also  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joe.  Pie  entered  the  army  in  the 
30th  Illinois  regiment  as  a private,  was  afterw’ards  promoted  and 
when  mustered  out  was  Adjutant.  Since  the  war  six  years  of  his 


of  Sam  Bass 


49 


life  was  spent  with  the  M.,  K.  & T.  R.  R.,  and  for  the  past  two 
years  he  has  been  on  the  T.  & P.  R.  R.  He  is  a man  of  great 
nerve,  and  has  been  much  praised  for  his  heroic  defense  of  his 
train.  Mr.  Curley  was  also  very  highly  commended  for  his  bravery. 

This  was  the  last  of  the  Texas  train  robberies,  and  we  come  now 
to  another  turn  in  the  history. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

GATHERING  THEM  IN. 

Public  Feeling  at  A High  Pitch — Loud  Calls  To  The  Governor — 
Major  Jones  on  the  Ground — Detectives  Hurring  Up — Company 
Of  Rangers  Organized — Arrest  Of  Pipes  And  Herndon — Billy 
Collins  Going  To  Swear  Them  Out — His  Arrest — Attempt  To 
Betray  Bass — Plan  To  Rob  A Dallas  Bank. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the  excitement  and  indig- 
nation which  this  fourth  robbery  produced. 

The  next  morning  as  soon  as  the  news  spread  over  Dallas  in- 
tense feeling  was  manifested  and  it  continued  to  increase  as  the  day 
advanced.  Men  walked  the  streets  with  stern  faces  and  clenching 
their  fists  declared  that  this  thing  must  be  stopped  if  it  took  the 
whole  State  of  Texas  to  do  it.  It  was  felt  that  local  authorities  had 
been  somewhat  remiss  in  the  performance  of  duty  or  were  totally 
unable  to  cope  with  the  gigantic  proportions  which  the  evil  was 
assuming.  Loud  calls  were  made  for  more  determined  action  on 
the  part  of  the  Governor.  That  official  had  written  not  long  be- 
fore to  the  railroad  officers,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  from  them,  as 
follows: 

“Be  assured  I will  hereafter,  as  heretofore,  offer  in  proper  cases 
suitable  rewards  for  the  capture  and  conviction  of  all  such  criminals. 
Whatever  power  the  law  gives  to  the  executive  will  be  promptly 
exercised  in  aid  of  yourself  and  the  civil  authorities,  towards 
providing  against  the  recurrence  to  robberies  of  our  railway  trains, 
and  to  secure  the  speedy  arrest  and  punishment  of  the  felons  who 
perpetrate  them.” 

He  was  now  vehemently  urged  by  the  State  press  to  come 
forward  with  whatever  aid  lay  in  his  power. 

Major  Jones,  commander  of  the  State  police,  was  at  once  sent 


50 


Life  and  Adventures 


to  Dallas  to  institute  a vigorous  search  for  the  robbers.  The  city 
was  also  full  of  detectives,  while  sheriffs,  constables  and  policemen 
were  flying  about  in  every  direction.  Every  few  days  some  poor 
fellow,  who  happened  to  have  the  smell  of  powder  on  his  clothes 
or  a wild  look  in  the  corner  of  his  eye,  was  gobbled  up  and  brought 
to  town.  But  he  always  turned  out  to  be  the  wrong  man. 

Major  Jones  proceeded  to  organize  a small  company  of  mount- 
ed police,  or  rangers,  consisting  of  thirty  picked  men.  These  were 
sworn  in  on  May  18th  and  placed  in  command  of  Lieutenant  June 
Peak,  formerly  Recorder  of  Dallas. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Major  had  fallen  in  with  Will  Scott,  who 
told  him  that  he  had  been  making  some  effort  to  decoy  Bass  into 
a corner  where  he  might  be  captured,  and  that  he  had  obtained 
some  valuable  information.  This  information  was  then  imparted 
to  him  and  thus  the  commander  of  the  State  forces  was  placed  in 
possession  of  all  the  facts  relating  to  the  robberies,  the  idenity  of 
the  guilty  parties  and  their  hiding  places.  These  facts  have  al- 
ready been  given  in  the  narrative. 

As  it  was  known  that  Pipes  and  Herndon  were  still  in  £he 
county  and  that  frequently  they  came  to  the  city,  steps  were  im- 
mediately taken  to  arrest  them. 

A plan  was  arranged  that  Scott  should  go  out  to  the  Collins 
place  and  reconnoitre.  If  the  two  were  there  he  would  remain 
over  night  and  Major  Jones  could  come  out  and  effect  the  capture, 
if  not  he  would  return  to  camp.  As  he  did  not  return,  Major  Jones 
went  out  and  found  Scott  and  Henry  Collins  and  Pipes  at  Mr. 
Collins’  house. 

They  were  all  put  under  arrest.  Scott  then  informed  him  that 
Albert  Herndon  was  at  Mr.  T.  J.  Jackson’s,  some  few  miles  away. 
A negro  arrested  on  the  outside  of  the  house  also  gave  the  same 
information.  Scott  and  Henry  Collins  were  then  turned  loose,  and 
Herndon  was  arrested  and  the  two  were  brought  to  town.  They 
very  emphatically  denied  their  guilt  and  seemed  indifferent  to 
proceedings.  After  a preliminary  examination  they  were  admitted 
to  bail  which  was  promptly  furnished  and  they  were  turned  loose 
again. 

About  this  time,  John  and  Morris  Griffin,  on  trial  for  robbing 
the  Express  Company  at  Paris  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  were  found 
guilty,  but  only  sentenced  to  two  years’  imprisonment. 

Major  Jones  learning  this  fact  concluded  to  change  the  case 
against  Pipes  and  Herndon  to  the  Federal  District  Court.  New 
papers  were  accordingly  taken  out  and  the  young  men  were  again 
arrested  and  had  a hearing  before  U.  S.  Commissioner  Fearn. 
They  were  also  taken  to  the  jail  and  searched,  as  it  had  become 


of  Sam  Bass 


51 


known  that  one  of  them  had  been  wounded.  No  marks  were 
found  upon  Herndon,  but  a small  scab  was  discovered  on  Pipes’ 
left  side.  When  questioned  in  regard  to  it  he  said  that  it  was  a 
little  boil,  then  he  admitted  that  it  was  a pistol  shot  wound  which 
he  had  received  from  one  of  his  comrades  in  the  country,  but  he 
had  concealed  the  matter  to  keep  the  man  out . of  trouble.  He 
became  somewhat  confused  in  his  story,  looked  despondent  and 
it  was  plain  to  the  officers  that  he  would  be  glad  indeed  to  get  his 
shirt  back  over  that  scab. 

Commissioner  Fearn,  held  the  parties  to  app'ear  before  the 
Federal  Judge  at  the  next  term  of  court,  the  bonds  being  fixed  at 
$15,000  each.  This  they  were  soon  prepared  to  give.  But  U.  S. 
Marshall  Russell,  who  had  taken  charge  of  them,  received  a tele- 
gram from  Judge  Duval,  stating  that  he  had  sent  a bench  warrant 
to  him  and  that  the  prisoners  must  be  produced  at  Tyler.  At 
eleven  o’clock  that  night  they,  were  ironed  together  and  put  aboard 
a special  train  and  hurried  away. 

This  no  doubt  saved  some  of  their  friends  a heavy  forfeiture, 
as  they  would  probably  have  jumped  their  bonds,  had  they  re- 
gained their  liberty.  This  was  April  26th,  sixteen  days  after  the 
Mesquite  robbery. 

April  29th,  William  Collins  wras  attached  as  a witness  to  ap- 
pear at  Tyler.  That  afternoon  he  appeared  in  one  of  the  newspa- 
per offices  “to  get  the  thing  right  in  the  papers.”  He  was  inter- 
viewed at  some  length. 

The  substance  of  his  statement  will  be  found  in  the  following 
calloquy : 

Collins. — Pipes  and  Herndon  can  easily  established  their  inno- 
cence by  proving  an  alibi.  It  is  true  that  they  have  been  pursu- 
ing no  calling  for  some  time,  but  have  been  idle. 

Reporter. — Mr.  Collins,  this  as  you  know,  is  urged  against  these 
two  young  men;  can  you  tell  me  anything  concerning  it? 

Collins. — They  have  been  idle  for  the  reason  that  they  were  mak- 
ing preparations  with  myself  to  go  west  with  me,  where  I intended 
to  take  a drove  of  cattle.  Pipes,  who  owned  land  in  the  county 
has  sold  it,  and  Herndon  has  leased  his  farm. 

Reporter. — Where  did  these  young  men  make  their  homes? 

Collins. — Pipes  has  been  living  for  some  months  at  my  father’s 
residence,  about  a mile  from  where  I live  in  the  White  Rock 
neighborhood,  and  Herndon  has  made  his  home  at  my  house,  stay- 
ing there  most  of  his  time. 

Reporter. — You  say  they  can  establish  an  alibi  on  the  night  of 
the  Mesquite  train  robbery.  Will  you  tell  me  what  facts  you  feel 


52 


Life  and  Adventures 


justified  in  making  known  as  to  their  whereabouts  on  that  night 
and  the  nature  of  the  proof  they  can  make? 

Collins. — Pipes  and  Hernon  were  both  at  my  house  that  night. 
They  went  to  bed  about  ten  o’clock,  and  I and  my  wife  will  both 
establish  the  fact  that  they  both  staid  at  my  house  up  to  that  hour. 
I saw  them  go  to  bed  myself  in  a room  above  my  own  from  which 
they  could  not  have  left  during  the  night  without  passing  through 
my  bed-room.  The  next  morning  early  they  were  still  in  their 
room,  and  I saw  them  both  get  up.  There  are  persons  who  work 
on  my  place  by  whom  they  can  prove  that  they  were  at  my  house 
that  night. 

Reporter. — I suppose  there  is  no  doubt  that  Pipes  has  about  his 
person  a gun-shot  wound  received  at  that  time? 

Collins. — Oh,  yes!  Pipes  has  a wound  but  it  was  received  be- 
fore the  Mesquite  train  robbery.  I know  all  about  it.  It  was  an 
accident  and  it  was  made  with  a little  old  pistol  which  is  at  my 
house  now.  That  matter  will  be  satisfactorily  explained  and  made 
perfectly  clear  at  the  proper  time. 

Reporter. — If  these  young  men  can  so  easily  establish  their  in- 
nocence— in  other  words,  if  there  is  so  little  grounds  for  their  ar- 
rest, what  do  you  suppose  has  led  to  their  being  suspected  and 
arrested? 

Collins. — (Well,  I don’t  know,  but  suppose  persons  at  enmity  with 
them  have  put  up  a job  on  them  for  the  purpose  of  injuring  and 
harassing  them. 

The  following  description  of  Collins  appeared  with  the  report 
of  this  interview: 

He  is  a young  man,  apparently  between  twenty-five  and  thirty 
years  of  age;  is  tall  and  well  formed;  has  a frank,  open,  honest- 
looking  face,  a clear  grey  eye,  high  forehead,  dark  hair,  and  is  very 
intelligent,  conversing  well  and  at  perfect  ease. 

It  was  remarked  after  the  handsome  but  unfortunate  young 
man  passed  out  of  the  room,  that  unless  Marshall  Russell  and  Ma- 
jor Jones  were  much  less  shrewd  than  they  have  credit  for  being 
Collins  would  soon  be  behind  the  bars  with  his  old  friends.  This 
remark  proved  correct,  as  Collins  found  an  indictment  waiting  for 
him  at  Tyler,  and  he  was  at  once  put  under  arrest. 

An  indictment  was  also  found  against  Henry  Collins,  but  he 
has  not  yet  been  captured,  as  he  became  alarmed  after  the  arrest 
of  his  brother  and  joined  the  Bass  gang. 

In  the  mean  time  Scott  Mayes,  a saloon  keeper  at  Denton,  and 
a negro  named  Scaggs  of  the  same  place,  had  also  been  arrested 
and  taken  to  Tyler.  They  were  charged  with  being  accessories  to 
the  fact. 


of  Sam  Bass 


53 


Soon  after  this,  May  2nd,  Bob  Murphy,  a cattle  man  in  Denton, 
and  Green  Hill,  a sporting  character,  were  arrested  at  their  homes 
in  Denton  and  taken  directly  to  Tyler.  They  were  charged  with 
being  accessories  to  the  robberies. 

On  the  same  day  Sheriff  Everheart,  of  Grayson  county,  ar- 
rested Henderson  Murphy,  father  of  Bob  Murphy,  Jim  Murphy 
and  Monroe  Hill.  They  were  all  charged  with  being  accessories 
and  also  with  harboring  Bass  and  his  party.  It  was  alleged  that 
about  a week  before  the  arrest,  the  gang  had  a frolic  at  old  man 
Murphy’s  house,  where  Underwood’s  wife  was  boarding;  that  they 
cut  up  “high  jinks”  and  had  a “high  old  time,”  practicing  with 
their  pistols  and  boasting  what  they  would  do  with  the  rangers. 

Just  after  the  arrest  of  Pipes  and  Herndon,  Scott  determined 
to  make  another  visit  to  Bass’  camp.  After  consultation  with  Ma- 
jor Jones  he  set  out  for  Denton  and  succeeded  in  finding  Bass  at 
Green  Hill’s,  about  six  miles  below  Denton.  He  informed  him  of 
the  arrest  of  Pipes  and  Herndon,  but  nevertheless  found  Bass  wil- 
ling to  enter  into  a plan  to  rob  a Dallas  bank.  The  exchange 
Bank,  of  Gaston  and  Thomas,  was  agreed  upon  as  the  proper  one 
to  “go  through.”  (It  is  not  on  a record  that  Bass  made  any  mention 
of  the  State  Saving  Bank.)  The  plan  was  partly  mapped  out  but 
left  in  an  indefinite  shape,  Will  Scott  returning  to  Dallas  to  com- 
plete the  arrangements. 

But  in  the  meantime  Bill  Collins  had  become  suspicious  of  Scott 
and  sent  a letter  to  Bass  by  Mayes,  telling  him  that  Scott  was 
a spy,  and  exhorting  him  to  hang  him  to  the  “handiest”  bush.  Scott 
was  anxious,  however,  to  return,  but  Major  Jones,  with  more  mature 
judgment,  saw  the  danger  and  forbade  his  going.  The  Major 
was  also  averse  to  the  plan  to  rob  the  bank,  as  he  knew  that  the 
bandits  were  a desperate  set  of  fellows  and  in  the  confusion  of 
the  moment  some  harm  might  be  done  to  persons  employed  at 
the  bank,  and  that  the  robbers  might  succeed  in  capturing  the 
contents  of  the  safe  and  escaping.  In  other  words  he  did  not 
care  to  be  held  liable  for  damage  to  property  With  so  poor  a prospect 
of  success. 


54 


Life  and  Adventures 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  GREAT  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  BASS. 

Swarms  of  Pursuers  on  the  Trail  — The  Ball  Opened  — Driving 
Them  Through  The  Woods — The  Air  Filled  With  Random  Bullets 

A Red-Hot  Breakfast — Escape  To  The  Western  Mountains — 

The  Game  Sprung  Again — Two  Days’  Fight — Four  Foolish  Farm- 
ers Who  Turned  Robber  Hunters  And  Got  Captured. 

The  great  summer  campaign  against  Bass  which  continued  until 
the  last  of  June,  was  opened  about  April  24th.  More  men  were 
employed  in  this  campaign,  more  powder  burned,  more  bullets  buried 
in  post  oaks  and  green  hillsides,  more  horses  rode  to  death,  more 
ground  galloped  over,  more  false  alarms  given,  more  prophecies 
blown  into  thin  air,  more  expectations  blasted  and  fewer  men  captur- 
ed than  ever  before  occurred  in  any  similar  campaign  in  human 
history.  Of  course  we  do  not  include  in  this  statement  the  prisoners 
who  quietly  submitted  to  arrest  at  their  homes,  making  no  attempt 
to  escape. 

About  the  date  mentioned  above,  Bass’  old  tramping  ground  in 
Denton  county  began  to  swarm  with  rangers,  detectives,  sheriffs,  and 
the  now  excited  citizens  of  the  county.  On  that  day  Sheriff  Eagan 
had  a brush  about  a mile  and  a half  west  of  Denton  with  the  now 
bold,  bad  man,  who  in  better  days  gathered  with  his  family  at  his 
own  fireside.  Nothing  was  accomplished  by  the  skirmish,  and  noth- 
ing more  was  attempted  until  early  the  next  week.  Then  Sheriff 
Eagan  again  took  the  war-path  followed  by  a host  of  deputies  and 
all  the  excited  citizens  who  could  find  a gun,  borrow  a horse  or 
seize  the  steed  of  some  unfortunate  farmer  who  happened  to  be  in 
town.  Peak  also  arrived  in  Elm  Fork  bottom  at  the  same  time  with 
his  company  of  rangers.  It  is  said  by  an  eye  witness  that  there  were 
fully  150  men  on  the  trail.  The  Denton  people  felt  the  strictures 
which  had  been  made  upon  their  county  and  were  determined  to  rid 
it  of  the  bad  gang  who  had  so  long  defied  arrest. 

A correspondent  who  witnessed  the  scene  gave  the  following 
description  of  it: 

“They  had  them  corralled  once  or  twice,  but  Captain  Bass  & Co. 
did  not  seem  to  care  for  the  fight  much,  and  depended  on  the  run 
for  it.  Many  shots  were  fired.  The  ‘flying  couriers,’  as  Bill  Arp 
used  to  call  them,  were  out  in  full  force  and  made  their  Texas  ponies’ 
hearts  sick.  Every  ten  minutes  one  would  come  dashing  up  to  the 
court  house  at  full  break  neck  speed  to  report  progress.  One  would 


of  Sam  Bass 


55 


say  ‘they  had  sent  him  back  because  his  horse  was  broken  down;’ 
but  all  agreed  that  ‘they’d  have  Bass  sure  before  nightfall.’ 

“Your  correspondent  took  an  excursion  into  the  ‘bottoms.’  Flank- 
ing the  ‘flying  couriers’  he  saw  some  rare  shooting  of  Winchester’s 
and  Spencers  at  random.  He  caught  a glimpse  of  Captain  Bass 
and  his  party  a little  distance  off.  Bass  sat  on  his  horse  like  a 
Comanche  Indian,  and  didn’t  seem  to  care  a continental  for  hurting 
any  of  the  pursuing  party.  He  and  Underwood  left  the  horses 
they  were  riding  and  took  it  afoot.  Judge  Hogg  captured  Bass’ 
horse;  but  down  into  those  everlasting,  hidden  bottoms  went  Bass 
& Co.  In  this  skirmish  Deputy  Marshall  Minor,  of  Denton,  had  a 
rare  tumble  from  and  with  his  horse.  They  rolled  over  and  over 
and  lcoked  like  fourteen  gentlemen  in  one.  Sergeant  Minor  re- 
turned to  Denton  to  report  a sprained  ankle. 

“Judge  Hogg,  Capt  F.  E.  Piner  and  Capt.  T.  Daugherty  were 
out  after  the  desperadoes,  as  were  all  the  prominent  citizens.  The 
saloon  keepers,  who  were  accused  of  harboring  and  encouraging 
the  Bass  party,  were  also  out  in  force,  and  if  they  could  have  been 
captured  in  these  terrible  bottoms,  I believe  it  would  have  been  done. 

“ The  people  of  Denton  are  as  hospitable,  as  kind,  and  as  law-abid- 
ing a people  as  I have  ever  met  in  Texas.  The  reason  Bass  gives  for 
coming  to  Denton  is  a sensible  one  and  a good  excuse  for  his  leaving 
here.  Dallas,  Collins,  Ellis,  Tarrant  and  other  of  our  counties  are 
high  and  rolling,  with  but  few  hiding  places,  but  when  you  strike 
the  cross  timbers  up  here  and  get  into  Elm  and  Hickory  bottoms, 
you  see  four  or  five  Chickahominy  swamps  all  boiled  down  into  one. 
The  foliage  is  dense — the  vines  hang  in  masses  and  the  undergrowth 
thick,  and  it  is  not  good  daylight  until  12,  noon.  Now,  Bass,  Under- 
wood and  company,  knew  these  ‘bottoms’  thoroughly.  For  nearly 
a year,  and  before  that,  they  have  made  every  ‘hog  path’  a study, 
and  they  knew  them  as  well  as  ‘Marion  and  his  men’  knew  the 
swamps  of  the  Pedee  in  South  Carolina.  That  they  would  naturally 
resort  to  such  a section  in  their1  trouble,  any  one  who  has  been 
through  them  can  see  at  a glance.  The  section  lying  between  Elm, 
Hickory,  Pecan,  Copper,  and  Little  Elm,  surrounding  Denton  city 
north,  southeast  and  west,  with  the  Cross  Timbers  and  the  grand 
prairie  to  hide  and  run  in,  affords  a place  for  the  operations  of  a small 
force  of  armed  and  desperate  horsemen,  such  as  is  not  to  be  found 
elsewhere  in  the  United  States. 

“That  no  one  was  killed  is  easily  accounted  for.  A lot  of  green  sol- 
diers were  after  men  trained  to  the  bottoms,  and  to  hardship.  Firing 
with  Winchester  rifles  or  Spencers  from  the  hip,  on  a horse  galloping 
through  the  dense  timbers  of  the  buttoms,  is  not  likely  to  hurt  any 
body  much.  Bass  and  party  knew  this,  and  though  it  is  said  Jackson’s 


56 


Life  and  Adventures 


ear  was  shot  off,  the  only  wounded  men  I saw  were  Sergeant  Minor, 
whose  horse  fell  on  him,  and  a young  Mr.  Hart,  who  placed  his  Win- 
chester upon  the  toe  of  his  boot  and  shot  onei  of  his  toes  off. 

“Of  course,  all  engaged  had  wonderful  stories  to  tell.  ‘How  terribly 
they  rode  to  the  front,  and  all  that,  but  the  truth  is,  ‘Captain  Bass 
and  his  Horse  Marines’ — 5 or  7 to  150,  ‘got  away  with  them,’  after 
three  days  riding  around  and  firing — and  as  ‘Charely,’  of  the  Denton 
Monitor  says,  ‘they’re  lit  out  and  lit.”  That  they  have  gone  all  the 
good  people  here  rejoice  to  know,  and  so  will  every  one  be  glad  if 
they  meet  with  their  deserts.  That  they  are  bold,  desperate,  deter- 
mined men,  no  one  who  has  seen  their  ways  can  doubt.  They  have 
sworn  ‘to  die  before  being  taken  alive,’  and  every  one  who  knows  the 
men  think  they  mean  what  they  say.  But  let  justice  be  done  to  Den- 
ton county  and  her  good  people,  and  hereafter,  ‘let  him  who  is  with- 
out sin  cast  the  first  stone.” 

The  correspondent  was  right  at  that  time  in  saying  that  the  band 
had  fled  from  the  country.  The  three  days’  fighting  alluded  to  oc- 
curred April  30th  and  May  1st  and  2nd.  On  Wednesday  morning,  May 
1st,  Lieutenant  Peak  came  upon  Bass  while  he  was  preparing  to  eat 
his  breakfast,  in  the  woods  about  four  miles  southeast  of  Denton. 
The  bandits  had  barely  time  to  escape,  leaving  their  food  on  the  fite. 
One  horse  was  captured.  They  at  once  turned  their  course  towards 
the  west,  closely  pursued  by  the  rangers.  On  Thursday  they  were 
heard  of  in  Wise  county  and  on  Thursday  night  Peak  arrived  with  his 
command  at  Decatur,  the  county  seat  of  Wise.  On  Saturday,  May 
4th,  a telegram  was  received  from  Decatur,  saying  that  Peak  had  di- 
vided his  comimand  and  was  scouringWest  Fork  bottom. 

But  Bass  and  his  men  being  well  acquainted  with  the  country, 
made  good  their  escape  and  nothing  worse  was  heard  of  them  for 
some  days. 

Sheriff  Everheart,  who  with  his  usual  alacrity  and  courage 
had  been  actively  engaged  in  the  pursuit,  returned  to  Sherman 
May  17th  and  reported  that  he  did  not  know  where  Bass  was,  though 
he  thought  he  was  in  Denton  or  Wise  county.  He  said  the  whole 
country,  through  Denton  and  Wise  counties,  was  alive  with  scouting 
parties  out  after  Bass,  and  that  his  operations  were  greatly  retarded 
by  these  bands  of  zealous  but  inexperienced  robber  hunters.  On 
two  different  occasions  his  squad  was  charged  and  captured  by 
companies  of  citizens.  He  said  also  that  there  were  bands  of  men 
pretending  to  hunt  Bass  who  were  really  his  accomplices  and  keeping 
him  posted  in  regard  to  the  movements  of  the  troops. 

Sheriff  Eagan  was  also  heard  from  about  the  same  time  and 
reported  that  he  was  in  Montague  county  and  believed  that  Bass 
was  making  for  the  Indian  Territory. 

It  was  a general  belief  at  that  time  that  he  was  trying  to  reach 


of  Sam  Bass 


57 


the  Territory  or  the  Nation.  Certain  it  was  that  he  had  vanished 
in  the  tangle  wood  of  the  western  counties,  and  nothing  more 
was  heard  from  him  for  something  over  two  weeksi.  The  public 
began  to  think  that  the  gang  had  surely  enough  escaped  from 
the  State.  But  suddenly  the  following  telegram  was  flashed  across 
the  wires: 

Griffin,  Texas,  May  18. 

“Sam  Bass  with  five  of  his  men  is  surrounded  on  Big  Caddo 
Creek  by  Berry  Meadows,  sheriff  of  Stevens  county.  Meadows 
was  re-enforced  by  ten  men  from  Palo  Pinto  last  night  at  2 o’clock. 
He  expected  to  make  the  attack  at  daylight  this  morning.  Some 
fighting  was  done  yesterday  and  the  day  before.  No  damage  done 
on  our  side.  It  is  not  known  whether  any  outlaws  were  hurt.” 

The  manner  in  which  they  were  discovered  and  the  incidents 
of  the  attempted  capture,  were  furnished  by  a correspondent  of 
the  Fort  Worth  Democrat  as  follows: 

“Deputy  Sheriff  Freeman  was  informed  last  week  by  a wom- 
an of  the  neighborhood,  near  Caddo  Creek,  that  parties  answer- 
ing to  the  description  of  tha  tra'n  robbers  were  there.  He,  with 
one  ranger,  and  Messrs.  Amis  and  Paschall  of  this  town,  went  into 
that  section  to  ascertain  something  more  dfinite,  and  learned  that 
Bass,  Underwood,  Jaskson,  Barnes,  and  two  others,  supposed  to  be 
Welch  and  Collins,  (Henry  Colins  had  join'ed  the  band  some 
time  previous  to  this),  had  been  camped  there  in  the  mountains 
for  upward  of  two  weeks.  A brother-in-law  of  Jackson,  and  sev- 
eral other  kin  and  friends  are  living  near  Caddo  Creek,  and  had 
furnished  them  with  supplies.  They  are  reported  to  be  flush  with 
twenty  dollar  gold  pieces,  and  from  events  developed  more  recent- 
ly, they  are  found  to  have  numerous  friends  in  that  vicinity.  Hav- 
ing gathered  the  desired  information,  the  ranger  reportad  to  h's 
camp  in  Shackelford  county,  and  the  balance  repaired  to  Breck- 
enridge,  where  Sheriff  Meadows  and  Deputies  Freeman  and  Hood 
selected  several  picked  men,  and  on  Sunday  started  for  the  scene 
of  action.  At  midnight  they  sent  back  for  reinforcements,  and 
twenty  old  shot  guns  were  collected  together  and  the  same  num- 
ber of  volunteers.  Before  all  of  these  new  recruits  arrived,  the 
sheriff’s  posse  came  upon  the  gang  near  the  store,  thirteen  miles 
east  of  here,  on  the  Palo  Finto  road,  and  an  engagement  ensued, 
in  wh.ch  about  forty  shots  were  fired  by  each  party,  and  at  one 
time  three  of  the  party  dismounted’  and  fought  from  behind  trees. 
It  is  thought  one  of  their  horses  was  wounded.  They  afterwards 
chased  the  robbers  about  two  miles  into  the  mountains.  As  the 
gang  was  so  much  better  armed  than  the  Sheriff’s  party,  and  were 
acquainted  with  the  locality  of  tha  mountain  defiles,  they  then  had 
little  to  fear.  On  Monday  night  they  camped  among  the  trees 


58 


Life  and  Adventures 


and  thickets  near  Taylor’s  store,  and  the  sheriff’s  party  on  the 
prairie  one-third  mile  distant. 

“Tuesday  morning,  May  26th,  the  Sheriff  and  his  posse  were 
gladdened  by  the  arrival  of  the  gallant  rangers  from  Shackleford 
county,  nineteen  in  number,  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  their  force 
had  also  been  increased  by  Deputy  Sheriff  Owen  and  eight  picked 
men  from  Palo  Pinto  town.  The  rangers  were  under  command  of 
Lieut.  Campbell  and  Sergeant  Jack  Smith,  and  the  Breckenridge 
party  of  fearless  Deputy  Sheriff  Freeman.  Sergeant  Smith,  of  the 
rangers,  stated  that  if  they  could  find  them,  they  would  capture 
the  robbers  dead  or  alive,  if  they  lost  half  their  men  in  the  at- 
tempt. On  Tuesday  they  followed  their  trail  through  mountains 
gaps  and  defiles,  and  among  the  hills  and  valleys  in  their  winding 
course,  but  up  to  twelve  o’clock  last  night  had  not  overtaken 
them,  though  the  gang  had  come  back  to  near  the  starting 
point.  At  McClasen:s  store,  four  miles  further  east,  they  purchased 
eight  dollars’  worth  of  provisions,  and  left  word  for  the  pursuers 
that  they  would  stand  their  ground  and  give  them  a desperate 
fight,  and  that  they  did  not  propose  to  be  bull-dozed,  all  of  which 
is  supposed  to  be  a blind,  and  that  they  in  reality  were  preparing 
to  stiike  out  for  parts  unknown.  It  was  ascertained  that  they  had 
been  trying  to  swap  off  one  of  their  horses.  They  are  said  to 
be  well  mounted  and  each  armed  with  a Winchester  rifle  and  a pair 
of  six  shooters.  Before  the  arrival  of  the  rangers  the  Sheriff  had 
summoned  four  or  five  citizens  in  that  neighborhood  to  secure 
arms  and  join  his  posse. 

“The  Bass  gang  passed  the  same  party  soon  after,  before 
they  had  obtained  arms,  marched  them  down  to  the  store  and 
treated  to  bottle  beer.  It  is  said  that  parties  in  that  vicinity  have 
carried  the  Bass  gang  baskets  of  provisions  and  kept  them  in- 
formed of  the  movement  of  their  pursuers.  One  of  the  gang,  it  is 
reported,  is  suffering  from  a wound  received  in  Denton  county. 
One  of  them  remarked  to  some  person  at  the  store  that  they  were 
no  petty  thieves,  that  they  interfered  with  no  private  citizen,  but 
holding  out  a handful  of  twenty-dollar  gold  pieces,  ‘that  is  what 
the  Sher  ff  and  his  posse  want.” 

“They  are  said  to  have  $5,000  with  them  and  to  have  buried 
the  balance.  In  getting  volunteers  from  Breckenridge,  it  was  quite 
manifest  that  a greater  portion  of  the  citizens  considered  it  their 
duty  to  join  the  home  guard  ar^d  gallantly  paraded  the  streets 
in  their  vig.lance  to  find  Bass  whom  they  proposed'  to  demolish 
forthwith. 

“The  rangers  from  Coleman  county  are  expected  across  the 
country,  to  intercept  them  in  case  of  a retreat  in  that  direction. 


of  Sam  Bass 


59 


Additional  parties  from  Griffin  passed  here  last  night  to  join  the 
forces  and  aid  in  the  capture. 

But  all  efforts  to  surround  them  proved  unavailing  and  a few 
days  later,  May  31st,  it  was  telegraphed  from  Breckenridge  that 
the  Sheriff’s  posse  and  rangers  had  given  up  the  chase  after  Sam 
Bass  and  party  and  that  they  left  Bass  boss  of  the  situation  in  the 
cedar  brakes  and  mountains,  fifteen  miles  east  of  that  place,  where 
they  easily  eluded  their  pursuers. 

During  this  “drive”  after  Bass  the  following  amusing  inc'dent 
is  reported  to  have  occurred.  We  give  it  as  told  in  one  of  the 
daily  papers: 

“A  gentleman  from  the  vicinity  of  the  late  scenes  of  the  at- 
tempted capture  of  the  Bass  and  Underwood  gang,  tells  the  follow- 
ing unexampled  story  in  connection  with  a fruitless  effort  on  the 
part  of  four  gallant  farmers  who  were  bent  on  heading  the  robbers 
off  and  taking  to  themselves  the  glory  and  consequent  profit  of  their 
capture. 

“The  rumor  spread  like  wild-fire  through  the  neighborhood  that 
Sam  Bass  and  his  confederates  were  scouring  through  that  part 
of  Shackleford  county,  brazen-faced  and  publicly  proclaiming  they 
did  not  give  a continent  damaged  darning  needle  whether  school 
kept  or  not. 

“Our  gentleman  informant,  Mr.  Nance,  of  Young  county,  says 
that  the  robbers  rode  up  to  a store  located  near  the  edge  of  Shack- 
leford and  Young  counties,  purchased  some  provisions  and  after 
leaving  a note  stating  that  they  were  the  robbers  and  were  going 
on  south-west  to  Taylor’s  store  several  miles  beyond,  paid  for 
what  they  got  and  gently  rode  off  in  the  direction  indicated  in  the 
note.  As  quick  as  possible  the  alarm  was  given,  and  one  of  the 
Deputy  Sheriffs  of  the  county,  accompanied  by  four  farmers  armed 
with  shot-guns,  started  in  hot  pursuit  and  overtooked  the  Bass  gang 
moving  leisurely  along  the  highway. 

“How  to  capture  them  was  now  indeed  an  enigma.  They 
finally  decided  to  separate,  the  Sheriff  to  remain  behind  and  inter- 
cept a possible  attempt  to  retrace  their  steps,  and  the  four  shot- 
gun heroes  were  to  move  rapidly  forward  in  a'  circuit,  come  into 
the  road  suddenly  on  their  side,  and  with  cocked  guns  order  their 
rich  game  to  surrender  or  suffer  the  alternative — death.  The 
scheme  wore  the  aspect  of  a plausible  one,  and  the  four  farmers 
started  to  execute  it. 

“Putting  spurs  to  their  horses,  they  shot  off  to  the  right  of 
the  road  and  were  not  long  in  gett  ng  in  an  obscure  position  by 
the  road-side  ahead  of  the  robbers,  where  they  could  not  be  seen 
until  so  desired1.  Apparently  unconcerned  and  careless,  the  four 


60 


Life  and  Adventures 


robbers  drew  near,  and  as  they  got  opposite,  the  stern  demand  to 
halt  and  surrender  was  given. 

“Just  then  a wild  whoop  from  behind  proceeded  from  the 
woods,  startled  the  shot  gun  heroes,  and  in  the  disorder  which  en- 
sued, the  robbers  getting  possession  of  their  arms,  got  the  drop 
on  their  would-be  captors  and  turned  the  table  by  ‘taking  them 
into  the  fold.’ 

“The  whooping  party  was  one  of  the  scouts  who  had  been  fol- 
lowing the  farmers  and  perpetrated  the  successful  trick.  All  four 
of  the  pursuers  were  taken  in  charge,  marched  to  Taylor’s  store, 
and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  were  boiling  drunk  through  the 
hospitable  treatment  at  the  hand  of  their  captors,  who  left  them 
shortly  after  accomplishing  their  aim,  in  possession  of  a note  cau- 
tioning them  to  make  no  such  absurd  attempt  to  bull-doze  a gang 
of  Sam  Bass’  train  robbers.” 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  GREAT  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  BASS  CONTINUED. 

Bass  Returns  to  His  Old  Stamping  Ground — Dashes  Into  Denton  and 
Recaptures  His  Horses  — Long  and  Hot  Pursuit  — Pursurers’ 
Horses  Killed  and  Riders  Wounded — Murphy  Joins  the  Band — 
Running  Fight  Across  the  Prairie  — Bandits  Surprise  at  Salt 
Creek — Desperate  Fight — Arkansas  Johnson  Killed — End  of  the 
Campaign — Why  It  Failed. 

After  the  escape  of  the  band  in  the  vicinity  of  Brackenridge, 
nothing  more  was  heard  of  them  until  May  5th. 

On  the  evening  of  that  day  a courier  suddenly  dashed  into  the  lit- 
tle town  of  Elizabeth,  Denton  county,  and  as  he  reigned  in  his  foam- 
ing steed,  shouted  out  in  breathless  haste  that  Captain  Sam  Bass 
was  again  on  his  old  stamping  ground,  having  just  been  seen  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Mr.  Burnett’s  farm,  on  Denton  creek,  about  nine 
miles  distant. 

A posse  was  immediately  collected  and  started  in  pursuit.  But 
Bass  was  riding  hard  to  accomplish  something  very  different  from 
an  escape,  and  soon  left  farmer  Burnet’s  place  far  to  the  rear. 

The  next  morning,  just  as  the  first  rays  of  light  leaped  over  the 
eastern  woods,  the  dashing  train  catcher  and  his  band  galloped  down 
the  streets  of  Denton  past  the  houses  still  closed  and  silent,  meeting 


of  Sam  Bass 


61 


here  and  there  an  early  riser  who  gazed  in  astonishment  at  the  dust- 
covered  riders.  Reaching  the  center  of  town  they  halted  their  weary 
steeds  in  front  of  Work’s  livery  stable.  Here  they  found  Charles 
McDonald,  an  employe,  who  had  just  risen  and  begun  his  stable 
work. 

He  was  immediately  informed  that  they  had  come  for  the  three 
horses  captured  from  the  band  by  Sheriff  Eagan  on  the  1st  of  May, 
and  that  he  must  “bring  them  horses  right  out.”  At  the  same  time 
Bass  had  drawn  close  to  him  and  was  flourishing  a revolver  in  close 
proximity  to  his  face.  He  refused  to  get  the  horses  when  Jackson, 
who  had  also  drawn  near,  began  to  strike  him  over  the  head  with 
his  pistol.  He  then  commanded  McDonald  to  stand  still  and  sent 
Jackson  and  Carter,  a man  who  had  lately  joined  the  band,  into  the 
stable  to  saddle  the  horses  and  bring  them  out.  This  was  soon  done 
and  the  band  put  spurs  to  their  horses  and  dashed  away. 

Two  men,  heavily  armed,  were  sleeping  in  the  upper  story  of  the 
stable  at  the  time.  They  heard  the  noise  below,  one  of  them 
siezed  a double  barreled  shot  gun,  looked  out  of  the  window  and 
saw  Bass  and  his  men  starting  away.  He  looked  at  them  as  they 
rode  across  the  green  into  the  street,  but  reserved  his  ammunition 
for  a better  opportunity. 

The  men  engaged  in  this  daring  raid  were  Bass,  Jackson,  Under- 
wood, Barnes,  Arkansas  Johnson  and  Carter.  Carter  is  a reputed 
cattle  thief,  and  though  he  had  but  lately  joined  the  band,  yet  he 
had  for  some  time  been  more  or  less  connected  with  them.  It  is 
not  known  whether  Henry  Collins  was  in  this  raid  or  not. 

Before  the  clatter  of  the  retreating  horses  hoofs  had  died  away, 
the  cry  of  “Bass,”  rang  along  the  streets,  and  soon  the  whole 
town  was  in  the  wildest  commotion.  Horses  were  hurried  from 
the  stables,  bridled  and  saddled  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  a 
whole  troop  of  riders  dashed  off  in  the  direction  taken  by  the 
bandits. 

To  give  a full  account  of  this  pursuit  of  the  gang  across  their 
old  tramping  ground,  from  the  time  that  they  were  seen  near 
farmer  Burnett’s  until  they  disappeared  near  Boliver,  we  intro- 
duce the  details  as  furnished  by  a correspondent  at  the  time. 
The  letter  was  dated  at  Elizabeth  and  was  written  by  a young  man 
engaged  in  the  pursuit.  He  says: 

“On  Wednesday  last  about  4 o’clock  p.  m.,  a special  courier 
arrived  in  Elizabeth  bringing  the  message  to  Capt.  Withers,  dep- 
uty sheriff,  that  Bass  and  company  had  made  their  appearan.ce  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Mr.  Burnett’s,  on  Denton  creek,  about  nine 
miles  northwest  of  this  place.  Capt.  Withers  immediately  sum- 
moned a posses  to  his  assistance  and  started  in  pursuit,  arriving 


62 


Life  and  Adventures 


where  they  were  last  seen  about  dark,  and  scoured  the  bottoms, 
which  proved  fruitless,  the  night  being  too  dark  to  strike  any  trail. 
They  dispatched  a man  at  once  to  Denton  and  the  utter  darkness 
prevented  his  arriving  there  until  late  the  next  morning. 

“At  daylight  Capt.  W.’s  crowd  struck  the  trail,  which  they  fol- 
lowed direct  to  Denton.  Arriving  at  Denton  they  learned  that 
Bass  and  company  had  arrived  there  a little  before  daylight,  taken 
from  Work’s  livery  stable  the  two  horses  which  had  been  captured 
from  him  during  his  last  trial,  and  went  to  the  residence  of  Sheriff 
Eagan,  roused  him  from  his  pleasant  slumbers  and  told  him  to  get 
up,  “as  the  country  was  full  of  thieves,”  and  then  rode  out  of  Den- 
ton. Strange  to  say,  but  yet  true,  a man  stood  on  the  loft  of  the 
stable,  with  a double-barreled  shot-gun  and  a bek  of  cartridges, 
and  let  Bass  proceed  with  the  horses. 

“Withers  and  command,  after  stopping  a few  seconds  to  hear 
the  tale,  proceed  on  their  trail  and  rounded  them  up  at  Pilot 
Knob,  about  six  miles  south  of  Denton,  on  Saturday  morning, 
when  they  had  the  first  battle.  One  of  the  pursuers  was  wounded. 
This  was  George  Smith,  the  Denton  marshal,  who  offered  to  ar- 
rest Bass  at  the  mill  for  the  Dallas  men.  Bass  then  fled. 

“Runners  were  sent  out  for  recruits,  one  going  to  Denton  and 
the  other  starting  to  his  place,  but  he  was  overtaken  by  Bass,  or- 
dered to  dismount,  and  they  took  his  saddle,  cut  his  bridle  into 
strings,  turned  his  mule  loose,  and  told  him  if  they  caught  him 
again  they  would  kill  him. 

“They  then  rode  off  towards  the  timbers.  But  before  they 
reached  the  trees,  Captain  Withers  was  up  and  made  a charge, 
but  Bass  was  too  well  armed  and  Withers  had  to  dismount.  After 
he  dismounted  Bass  and  company  poured  about  twenty-five  volleys 
right  at  him,  cutting  the  ground  all  around  him  and  throwing  the 
dirt  all  over  him.  Bass  then  retreated,  taking  a south-easterly 
course. 

“Up  to  this  time  not  over  seven  were  in  close  pursuit,  and  Bass 
having  seven  in  his  outfit,  and  armed  with  long-ranged  rifles. 

“From  this  place  Bass  started  in  the  direction  of  Alton,  thence 
to  Ballard’s  Mill,  thence  to  Davenport’s  Mills,  pursued  closely  by 
the  command,  which  now  had  swelled  to  nearly  forty.  At  Daven- 
port’s Mills  Bass  stopped,  bought  some  coffee-pots  and  inquired 
for  ammunition.  It  was  discovered  that  one  of  Bass’  men  was 
shot  in  the  side.  They  then  took  for  Medlin  School  House,  where 
Withers  again  came  up  within  shooting  distance  and  gave  them  a 
round,  but  inffectively.  They  then  took  to  the  timber  and  rounded 
and  came  back  very  nearly  on  the  same  track  they  went  down, 
struck  out  by  Doe  Harris’  and  through  the  timber  again,  when 
the  trail  was  lost  about  ten  o’-clock  at  night.  The  men  being  worn 


of  Sam  Bass 


63 


out,  they  went  to  camp.  The  next  morning  at  daylight  they  were 
again  in  the  saddle  and  on  the  trail.  After  proceeding  a mile  and 
a half  they  came  to  where  Bass  had  camped.  The  trail  being  fresh, 
they  made  good  time,  and  came  upon  Bass  and  company  cooking 
their  breakfast,  about  a mile  and  a half  from  Ballard’s  Mill.  Bass 
opened  the  fire,  shooting  down  two  of  Withers’  boys  ponies.  The 
volley  was  returned  and  one  of  Bass’  men  was  shot.  They  then  fled, 
putting  the  wounded  man  on  his  horse  and  one  of  the  other  getting 
up  behind  to  hold  him  on.  One  of  Bass’  horses,  his  cooking  utensils 
and  provisions  were  captured. 

“Your  reporter  arrived  at  the  battle-field  about  an  hour  after 
the  battle  and  joined  the  boys,  who  then  trailed  Bass  to  the 
McKinney  road,  about  six  miles  east  of  Denton,  where  the  trail 
was  lost  about  five  o’clock  Sunday  afternoon,  and  we  returned. 
This  nearly  accurately  describes  the  whole  movement. 

“Bass  is  well  mounted,  well  armed  and  has  plenty  of  money 
and  legions  of  confederates  in  the  Cross-Timbers,  and  it  may  con- 
sume a week  before  he  is  finally  either  shot  down  or  captured,  as 
Withers  and  Eagan  and  their  men  are  determined  to  follow  as 
long  as  any  trail  can  be  found. 

“It  is  said  one  of  Bass’  men  has  fallen  out. 

“Bass  has  all  the  advantage  in  the  world,  as  he  has  nothing  to 
to  do  but  to  ride  through  the  woods,  while  the  other  party  have 
to  often  spend  hours  hunting  up  the  trail. 

“Sunday  evening  two  gallons  of  whiskey,  some  tobacco  and 
provisions  were  shipped  to  Elm  bottom  from  Denton,  and  it  is 
thought  it  went  to  Bass,  as  he  has  runners  in  all  directions. 

“He  has  made  the  remark  that  he  intends  to  kill  Capt.  Withers 
before  he  leaves  the  country,  as  he  believes  Withers  is  the  only 
officer  in  the  c ountry  w'ho  is  seeking  to  arrest  him. 

“From  what  we  saw  of  the  men’s  performance  on  Sunday 
they  are  all  determined  to  have  the  whole  outfit  or  die  trying. 

“The  whole  party  are  very  much  fatigued,  and  their  horses  are 
jaded  to  the  last. 

“The  people  of  Denton  are  very  much  aroused  and  are  fully 
awaked  to  their  duty,  and  are  rallying  to  the  front  as  fast  as 
they  can. 

“We  left  about  fifty  men  in  pursuit  Sunday  evening,  and  no 
doubt  the  crowd  is  doubled  by  this  time.  Courtright  and  two 
others  from  Fort  Worth  caught  up  with  the  .crowd  shortly  after 
the  battle  Sunday  morning,  and  took  the  lead  with  Withers  at 
once. 

“The  men  from  this  place  who  have  been  and  are  still  in  pur- 
suit, are  Jack  Bates,  G.  M.  Powell,  J.  Goff,  M.  Kinser,  W.  H.  Berbe, 


64 


Life  and  Adventures 


A.  E.  Allen,  and  Ed.  Dunning,  and  are  as  brave  and  true  as  ever 
breathed. 

“Tuesday,  June  11. — The  news  came  here  late  yesterday  that 
the  trail  had  been  entirely  lost  in  Elm  bottom,  and  another  that 
Bass  and  company  had  passed  Bolivar  with  fifteen  men  strong. 
The  informer  said  Eagan  and  his  posses  had  returned  to  Denton, 
and  Withers  and  his  men  were  still  in  pursuit.  We  can  hear  most 
anything,  but  we  are  positive  that  Withers  has  not  lost  or  been 
off  Bass’  trail  one  hour  since  he  struck  it  on  Wednesday  last. 

“If  they  did  pass  Bolivar,  it  is  almost  sure  that  they  are  mak- 
ing for  Lost  Valley,  where  they  will  be  joined  by  about  thirty  other 
outlaws,  who  have  been  traced  to  that  point. 

“It  may  seem  to  your  readers,  Mr.  Editor,  that  in  four  battles, 
and  in  the  last  not  over  fifty  yards  apart,  that  Bass  surely  ought 
to  have  been  taken  in  ere  this,  but  if  you  were  better  acquainted 
with  some  of  his  dodges  and  tricks  it  would  appear  different. 

“All  the  creeks  had  to  be  swum  up  to  Sunday  morning,  which 
made  pursuit  troublesome. 

“In  the  fight  at  Pilot  Knob,  Riley  Wetzel  was  shot  through  the 
calf  of  the  leg  by  one  of  Eagan’s  men.  He  was  .conveyed  back 
to  Denton  by  Mr.  Allen. 

“Later. — Bass  went  into  Bolivar  Monday,  bought  a sack  of  flour, 
four  sacks  of  coffe  and  clothes.  He  was  remounted  and  in  good 
trim.  They  ate  their  dinner  near  Bolivar.  The  crowd  cannot 
be  far  in  the  rear,  and  no  doubt  will  run  him  into  Lost  Valley. 
A company  of  rangers  will  be  up  by  this  evening.  One  Murphy 
joined  Bass  near  Bolivar.” 

This  was  Jim  Murphy,  a man  who  figures  very  prominently  in 
the  narrative  before  it  closes. 

In  the  fight  at  Ballard’s  mentioned  above,  John  Work,  a son  of 
CaptainWork,  of  Dallas,  was  wounded  in  the  shoulder,  and  the  firm 
had  two  horses  killed. 

On  the  evening  of  June  10th,  the  same  day  on  which  Bass  was 
reported  to  have  gone  into  Bolivar,  the  band  was  engaged  bya 
party  under  Sheriff  Everheart  in  a running  fight  on  the  paririe,  in 
the  north  part  of  Denton  county. 

A farmer  who  witnessed  the  fight,  says  that  when  he  saw  them 
the  Bass  crowd  was  riding  seven  abreast  and  going  at  a furious  gait. 
The  Sheriff’s  party  were  from  three  to  four  hundred  yards  behind, 
stringing  out  single  file,  and  spurring  their  horses  to  their  utmost 
capacity.  Some  thirty  or  forty  shots  were  fired.  About  three  or 
four  miles  farther  on  the  Bass  crowd  reached  a strip  of  timber, 
dismounted  and  disappeared. 

The  next  seen  of  the  gang  was  in  Wise  county,  where  they  were 


of  Sam  Bass 


65 


discovered  by  Captain  Peake  and  his  command.  The  Rangers  had 
followed  them  into  the  tangle  wood  along  Salt  creek,  near  Cotton- 
dale,  on  the  morning  of  the  12th.  Most  of  the  day  was  spent  in 
searching  through  the  dense  bushes  for  the  hidden  robbers.  In  the 
afternoon  they  were  suddenly  discovered  lounging  under  the  trees 
on  the  bank  of  the  stream,  their  horses  having  been  lariated  out  a 
few  rods  away.  The  Rangers  at  once  crossed,  opened  fire  upon  them, 
and  the  fight  which  ensued  was  the  sharpest  and  most  successful  of 
the  campaign.  The  bandits  seemed  more  anxious  to  escape  to  their 
horses  than  to  fight,  but  the  Rangers  crossed  the  stream  and  headed 
them  off  from  the  horses.  During  the  fight,  one  of  the  robbers  ex- 
posed his  person  boldly  to  view,  Sergeant  Floyd,  a crack  shot  of  the 
Stonewall  Greys,  of  Dallas,  seeing  him,  dropped  upon  his  right  knee 
and  taking  deliberate  aim  fired,  killing  him  instantly.  The  victim 
afterwards  proved  to  be  Arkansas  Johnson.  Bass  was  standing  at 
his  side,  but  escaped  unhurt. 

Shorty  after  the  fall  of  Johnson,  the  robbers  slipped  away  through 
the  tangle  wood  and  escaping  under  the  bank  of  the  creek,  concealed 
themselves  in  a large  excavation.  While  here,  as  was  afterwards 
learned,  one  of  the  Rangers  came  very  near  and  stood  plainly  in 
view.  Jackson  leveled  his  rifle  upon  him  and  asked  Bass  if  he 
should  shoot.  The  chief  said,  “no,  not  unless  he  turns  this  way.” 

Underwood,  however,  escaped  to  the  horses,  mounted  one  of  them 
and  was  returning,  when  he  was  met  by  Captain  Peak  in  the  woods. 
A pistol  duel  at  once  opened,  but  Captain  Peak  shouted  to  his  men 
and  Underwood  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  fled.  The  heads  of  the 
robbers’  horses  were  now  seen  in  a clump  of  trees  not  far  distant. 
As  Captain  Peake  did  not  know  where  the  robbers  were,  and  fearing 
that  they  might  be  with  the  horses,  he  ordered  his  men  to  fire  upon 
the  horses,  which  they  did  and  two  of  them  were  killed.  The  rest 
were  captured. 

Johnson  was  buried  by  citizens  living  near  the  place. 

Thus  ended  the  career  of  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  hardened 
of  the  gang.  Though  despised  at  first,  he  soon  proved  bold  and  bad 
enough  for  the  worst  undertakings  of  the  band.  Johnson  showed 
more  wisdom  than  any  of  his  confederates  in  his  estimate  of  Will 
Scott.  As  soon  as  he  took  a good  look  at  him,  he  pronounced  him 
a spy,  and  advised  Bass  to  get  rid  of  him.  Bass  afterwards  greatly 
regretted  that  he  did  not  follow  the  advice.  One  other  piece  of 
advice  given  by  Johnson,  was,  to  leave  Texas  and  go  to  Arkansas 
and  rob  a bank.  Bass  also  regretted  that  he  did  not  take  this  advice. 

During  this  Salt  creek  fight  Henry  Underwood,  Henry  Collins  and 
Carter  disappeared..  Underwood  was  never  seen  again  by  Bass. 

The  next  night  after  the  battle  the  robbers  stole  some  horses  in 


66 


Life  and  Adventures 


the  neighborhood  and,  as  has  since  been  learned,  directed  their 
course  towards  their  old  hiding  places  in  Denton  and  Cooke  counties. 
But  they  were  not  discovered  again  by  their  pursuers. 

The  Salt  Creek  fight,  which  occurred  June  12th,  virtually  ended 
the  great  campaign  against  Bass.  It  began  with  a light  skirmish 
April  24th,  and  continued  seven  weeks.  During  that  time  Bass 
and  his  men  were  almost  continually  harassed  by  their  pursuers. 
They  were  kept  on  the  run  day  and  night,  through  the  woods,  across 
prairies,  over  swollen  streams  (for  unprecedented  rainfalls  occurred 
during  a greater  part  of  the  time),  on  horseback  and  on  foot,  and 
they  were  under  fire  something  like  a score  of  times.  But  still  only 
one  of  the  band  was  killed  and  none  captured. 

If  the  question  be  asked,  why  the  campaign  proved  so  fruitless, 
it  should  be  answered  because  of  the  forests  and  the  tangle  wood. 
This  gave  the  robbers  all  the  advantage.  They  could  hide  in  a 
moment,  and  could  at  any  time  turn  upon  their  pursuers  and  shoot 
them  down.  That  they  did  not  kill  them  can  only  be  accounted  for 
on  the  supposition  that  Bass  was  determined  not  to  stain  his  hands 
with  blood  if  possible  to  escape  without  it.  He  said  afterwards, 
that  he  frequently  lay  in  the  woods  within  ten  feet  of  his  pursuers, 
but  allowed  them  to  pass  unmolested. 

Had  he  so  determined,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  he  could  soon  have 
made  it  so  fatal  to  pursuing  parties  that  but  few  would  have  had 
the  courage  to  follow  his  trail  through  the  dense  forests. 

One  of  the  most  experienced  detectives  in  the  country  gives  it 
as  his  opinion  that  the  tramping  ground  selected  by  Bass,  is  one 
of  the  best  places  in  the  country  for  such  purposes.  In  Nebraska, 
where  the  Union  Pacific  robbery  was  committed,  and  in  Kansas 
where  Collins  was  captured,  the  country  is  open,  and  a single  horse- 
man can  be  seen  for  many  miles  away.  It  is  difficult  to  pass  in  any 
direction  without  being  discovered.  But  in  Denton  and  adjoining 
counties,  parties  can  ride  through  the  forests  for  days  without  be- 
ing noticed. 

It  must  also  be  remembered  that  numerous  confederates  in  all 
parts  of  the  circuit  constantly  afforded  invaluable  assistance,  sup- 
plying the  robbers  with  provisions  and  conveying  secret  intelligence 
at  the  slightest  note  of  alarm. 

The  campaign  proves,  that  in  such  a country  a pell  mell  drive 
after  robbers,  is  not  the  best  way  to  capture  them.  Brains  are 
better  than  eyes.  The  keen,  strategic  mind  runs  further,  faster  and 
more  surely  than  the  swiftest  steed.  Robbers  are  not  wise.  Their 
abandoned  course  shows  a perversion  and  obscuration  of  intellect  as 
well  as  of  morals. 

Again,  all  robbers  are  traitors  to  human  society.  By  the  very 


of  Sam  Bass 


67 


principle  and  practice  of  their  profession  they  are  easily  led  to  be- 
tray one  another.  How  well  these  principles  were  established  be- 
fore the  close  of  Bass’  career,  will  be  seen  in  the  subsequent  nar- 
rative. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

PIPES  AND  HERNDON 

Prisoners  at  the  Bar — Trial  Postponed — Taken  to  Austin — A Sad 

Contrast — The  Man  Who  Killed  Another  for  Snoring — Trial  and 

Conviction — Confession — Collins  Runs  Away. 

We  return  now  to  the  case  of  Pipes  and  Herndon  and  the  other 
prisoners  who  had  been  captured  and  taken  to  Tyler  to  await  the 
sitting  of  the  Federal  court.  The  bonds  were  fixed  at  a very  high 
amount  and  the  prisoners  remained  in  jail  until  May  21st,  when  the 
case  was  called. 

Long  before  the  hour  for  opening  court  the  room  was  crowded 
with  spectators  eager  to  catch  a glimpse  of  the  men  who  had  dared 
to  put  the  brakes  upon  a train  without  going  through  the  formality 
of  a regular  engagement  with  the  company. 

The  case  was  numbered  1456  and  was  entitled,  “The  United 
States  vs.  Sam  Bass,  et  al. 

The  Prisoners  brought  to  the  bar  were  Samuel  Pipes  and  Albert 
Herndon. 

District  Attorney  Evans  announced  ready  for  trial.  But  the 
defendants,  Judge  Barksdale  and  Sawnie  Robertson,  of  Dallas,  and 
Robertson  & Robertson,  of  Tyler,  felt  persuaded  that  there  were 
several  good  reasons  for  delay.. 

First  they  presented  a plea  in  abatement,  in  substance  alleging 
that  two  of  the  grand  jury  which  preferred  the  indictment  were 
disqualified,  because  they  gave  aid  and  comfort  to  the  Confederacy 
in  the  late  civil  strife. 

Mr.  Sawnie  Robertson  presented  the  motion,  and  in  a forcible 
argument  insisted  that  the  bill  should  be  quashed.  Judge  Evans 
replied  on  the  part  of  the  government  and  made  a considerable 
State’s  rights  speech.  Judge  Barksdale  closed  the  argument  for  the 
defendant. 

The  motion  was  overruled  by  the  Judge. 

Next  the  defendant’s  counsel  made  a motion  to  transfer  the  case 
from  the  District  Court  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States. 


68 


Life  and  Adventures 


This  met  the  same  fate  at  the  hands  of  the  Court. 

Col.  John  C.  Robertson  presented  additional  exceptions  to  the 
indictment,  alleging  that  the  description  of  the  offense  was  in- 
sufficient. 

This  Judge  Duval  also  overruled. 

Next  the  defense  asked  for  a continuance,  pleading  the  absence 
of  material  witnesses  and  moving  that  the  continuance  be  granted. 
The  Judge  replied  that  there  was  but  one  ground  in  the  application 
on  which  he  would  grant  the  continuance,  and  that  was  that  Mrs. 
Shipley,  a material  witness,  was  sick  and  unable  to  attend.  After 
careful  examination  the  continuance  was  granted  on  this  ground. 
The  case  was  therefore  postponed  until  the  court  met  at  Austin, 
June  24th. 

The  prisoners  were  at  once  taken  to  Austin  and  placed  in  jail  to 
await  the  calling  of  their  case.  , 

That  they  did  not  find  this  prison  as  pleasant  as  the  free  air  of 
North  Texas  where  they  used  to  scamper  over  the  prairies  and  run 
scrub  races  on  Sunday  and  raise  a wild  whoop  along  the  roads  by 
night,  is  easily  gathered  from  a brief  description  of  the  place  given 
by  one  of  their  old  neighbors,  v/ho,  while  attending  the  trial,  vis- 
ited their  prison. 

Passing  through  a hall  walled  in  by  solid  masonry,  the  jailer  un- 
bolted a pair  of  heavy  iron  doors  and  he  found  himself  in  a large 
room  filled  with  rows  of  iron  cages.  It  was  a hot  day  in  July,  and 
a July  day  in  Austin  is  not  to  be  described  by  any  figure  of  speech 
which  will  not  stand  the  test  of  white  heat.  The  room  was  dark 
and  not  very  well  aired.  The  men  were  stripped  to  the  waist  and 
the  perspiration  was  drippng  from  their  bodies.  The  cages  were 
of  solid  iron  bars,  the  floor  was  sheeted  with  iron.  There  were  no 
bedsteads  in  the  cells,  a blanket  or  quilt  answered  all  sleeping  pur- 
poses. From  one  to  three  occupants  were  in  a cage.  There  were 
more  than  three-score  prisoners  in  all.  Among  them  was  the  noto- 
rious John  Wesley  Hardin,  accused  of  twenty-seven  murders,  and 
captured  in  Florida  last  summer,  by  running  him  off  in  a train  of 
cars  amid  a shower  of  bullets  which  laid  one  of  his  confederates 
stark  and  stiff  upon  the  sand  and  frightened  a score  of  passengers 
out  of  all  recollection  of  themselves..  John  wrestled  and  struggled 
on  the  floor  while  the  train  ran  twenty-five  miles  and  then  cried  all 
day  because  he  had  been  caught. 

He  was  pert  and  saucy  as  ever  and  advanced  to  the  front  of  his 
cage  for  a chat. 

“This  is  a very  bad  place  to  come  to,”  said  he,  “people  better  keep 
out  of  here.  They  say  there  is  honor  among  thieves,  but  don’t  you 
believe  it.  There’s  not  a word  of  truth  in  it.  When  they  can’t  steal 


of  Sam  Bass 


69 


from  anybody  else,  they  steal  from  one  another.”  (A  remark  which 
had  a terrible  fulfillment  for  Bass  a few  days  later.)  “They  tell 
lots  of  lies  about  me.  They  say  I killed  six  or  seven  men  for 
snoring*,  but  it  isn’t  true.  I only  killed  one  man  for  snoring.” 

But  Pipes  and  Herndon  did  not  have  to  remain  here  long,  for 
their  trial  opened  July  2d,  and  after  a few  days  delay  got  well  un- 
der headway.  It  ended  July  17th  with  a verdict  of  “guilty  of  rob- 
bing the  United  States  mail  and  endangering  life.”  The  jury  af- 
fixing the  penalty  at  ninety-nine  years  in  the  penitentiary,  but  the 
judge  sentenced  them  for  life,  the  difference  being  somewhat  imma- 
terial. , 

The  principal  part  of  the  evidence  for  the  prosecution  was  that 
already  given  in  Will  Scott’s  statements.  Pie  testified  to  the  facts 
relatel  in  chapters  12  and  13.  The  defense  attempted  to  break 
down  his  testimony  by  an  effort  to  prove  that  he  did  not  relate  these 
facts  to  Major  Jones  until  after  the  arrest  of  the  prisoners  at  the 
bar.  They  also  attempted  to  prove  an  alibi,  somewhat  according  to 
the  plan  intended  by  William  Collins.  The  wife  of  Collins  was 
present  but  was  not  allowed  to  testify. 

After  their  conviction  and  especially  while  on  their  way  to  the 
penitentiary,  the  condemned  men  freely  admitted  their  guilt,  charg- 
ing Wjilliam  Collins  with  getting  them  into  their  troubles.  They 
said  they  were  present  at  Mesquite  and  assisted  in  the  robbery.  They 
greatly  praised  Curley  for  his  heroic  defense  of  the  express  car,  but 
attributed  the  numerous  little  gun-shot  wounds  received  that  night 
to  the  buckshot  fired  at  them  by  the  convict  guards. 

Scott  Mayes,  Monroe  Hill  and  Bob  Murphy  were  immediately  re- 
arrested on  another  charge.  Afterwards  they  gave  bonds  for  their 
appearance  and  were  set  at  liberty. 

Green  Hill  and  the  negro  Scaggs  are  still  in  jail  at  Austin. 

It  is  a well  established  fact  that  just  previous  to  William  Collins’ 
arrest  he  received  eighteen  hundred  dollars  from  Bass.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  discover  whether  this  money  was  intended  for  use  in  the  trials 
of  Bass’  various  friends,  or  whether,  as  is  claimed  by  parties  cog- 
nizant of  the  transaction,  it  was  given  for  the  purpose  o^  establish- 
ing a stock  ranche  in  the  West,  which  was  to  be  used  by  Bass  and 
his  band  as  a rendezvous. 

Collins  was  taken  with  the  remainder  of  the  prisoners  to  Austin, 
but  afterwards  gave  bonds  in  the  sum  of  $15,000.  But  he  jumped 
his  bonds  and  the  unfortunate  sureties  have  been  notified  of  the 
forfeiture  by  the  U.  S.  Marshal.  Unless  Collins  is  speedily  pro- 
duced, there  will  be  a nice  little  bill  to  pay.  Collins’  whereabouts 
since  his  hasty  departure  are  unknown. 


70 


Life  and  Adventures 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  BETRAYAL. 

No  Honor  Among  Thieves — Murphy  Plans  to  Betray  Bass  for  the 
Price  of  Liberty — Bargain  Made  With  the  Authorities — Memo- 
randum of  the  Contract — Public  Greatly  Excited — Two  Report- 
ers Who  Wanted  To  See  Bass’  Mother — Immense  Stretch  Of 
Imagination. 

One  of  the  disciples  was  pronounced  a thief  and  it  was  prophesied 
that  he  would  betray  his  Master. 

John  Wesley  Hardin,  whose  native  shrewdness  and  bitter  expe- 
rience make  him  a good  authority  on  the  subject,  says  there  is  no 
honor  among  thieves.  Bass  had  many  friends  who  constantly  be- 
trayed law  and  justice  to  shield  him.  At  last  it  was  found  that  one 
these  friends  was  just  as  ready  to  betray  Bass  himself,  when  the 
price  was  offered  That  price  was  not  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  but 
liberty — liberty  to  go  in  the  sweet  sunshine  and  walk  the  green 
fields  of  earth. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  Jim  Murphy  and  his  father  Henderson 
were  among  the  prisoners  taken  to  Tyler.  As  the  flying  train 
hurried  Murphy  away  to  prison,  he  was  busily  ransacking  his  brain 
for  a plan  of  escape,  and  even  before  he  crossed  the  dark  threshold 
of  the  jail  he  half  determinded  upon  a sacrifice  of  the  leader  of  the 
bandits  who  had  so  often  assisted  him  with  his  stolen  gold. 

But  as  no  one  can  tell  the  story  better  than  Murphy  has  told  it 
himself,  and  in  order  to  avoid  all  appearance  of  injustice  to  the  par- 
ties concerned,  we  give  as  it  came  from  his  own  pen.  In  his  state- 
ment made  at  Austin,  July  26th,  an  exact  copy  which  has  been 
furished  us,  he  writes  as  follows: 

“I  will  give  you  all  the  true  statements  of  the  plan  that  was  laid  to 
catch  Sam  Bass: 

“I,  W.  Murphy,  was  arrested  May  1st,  1878,  by  Sheriff  Everheart, 
of  Grayson  county,  for  harboring  Sam  Bass.  I was  innocent  of  the 
charge,  and  told  Everheart  so.  I asked  him  why  he  did  not  tell  me 
long  ago  that  he  wanted  Sam  Bass.  He  gave  me  no  answer  of  any 
satisfaction  but  pushed  me  off  from  my  family  and  put  me  in  jail  at 
Sherman.  Walter  Johnson  took  me  from  the  Sherman  jail  and  put 
me  in  jail  in  Tyler.  On  the  way  to  the  jail  at  Tyler  I hinted  the  plan 
for  capturing  Sam  Bass  to  Taylor,  and  he  said  he  would  send  John- 
son to  see  me  soon.  Johnson  came  to  see  me  after  I had  given  bond. 
I told  him  that  I could  plan  a job  to  capture  Sam  Bass  if  I was  foot 


of  Sam  Bass 


71 


loose.  Johnson  told  me  that  he  would  see  me  again  soon.  So  he 
went  off  and  came  back  with  June  Peak,  and  we  talked  the  matter 
over.  June  says,  ‘I  will  go  and  see  Major  Jones.’.  The  Major  came 
and  talked  with  me  about  the  plan  for  the  capture  of  Bass.  At  this 
time  I made  a contract  with  Major  Jones  as  to  what  he  would  do  for 
me  and  my  father  if  I would  catch  Sam  Bass.  He  said  if  I would  lay 
the  plan  for  the  capture  of  Sam  Bass,  that  he  would  have  my  case 
and  my  father’s  dismissed,  and  that  he  would  see  that  I should  have 
my  part  of  the  reward'  and  his  part  too.  He  said  that  he  did  not 
want  any  of  the  reward,  and  that  I should  have  what  was  right.  I 
worked  this  plan  under  three  men,  Jones,  Peak  and  Johnson.  No- 
body else  was  to  know  anything  about  it.  They  were  the  men  I 
relied  on.  After  a short  time  Sheriff  Everheart  worked  into  the 
secret  through  Johnson.  The  first  time  that  Everheart  came  to  me 
I gave  him  no  satisfaction.  The  second  time  he  came  a man  by 
the  name  of  Taylor  was  with  him.  Taylor  told  me  that  whatever 
Everheart  told  me  would  be  all  right  with  Johnson,  and  I let  him 
into  the  secret  against  my  own  will.” 

The  following  is  the  memorandum  of  the  contract  entered  into 
with  U.  S.  Attorney  Evans: 

“Whereas,  James  Murphy  stands  indicted  as  an  accessory  in 
robbing  the  United  States  mails,  in  several  cases  now  pending  in 
the  United  States  District  Court  at  Tyler,  and,  whereas,  I believe 
public  justice  will  be  best  subserved,  hereby,  I,  Andrew  J.  Evans, 
United  States  Attorney  for  the  Western  District  of  Texas,  bind  the 
United  States  as  follows: 

“1st.  If  the  said  Murphy  should  leave  Tyler  I will  protect 
him  and  his  bondsmen  at  this  term  of  the  court. 

2nd.  If  the  said  Murphy  shall  be  instrumental  in  securing 
the  arrest  and  delivery  to  the  United  States  Marshal  of  the  West- 
ern District  of  Texas,  of  all  or  any  one  of  the  following  principals, 
in  their  order  (Bass,  Jaekson,  Underwood,  Barnes  and  Johnson) 
in  said  indictments,  then  all  prosecutions  are  to  be  dismissed  as  to 
said  Murphy ; growing  out  of  his  acts  as  accessory  to  the  said  prin- 
cipals; to  be  done  upon  certificate  of  Major  .John  B.  Jones. 

“P.rd.  In  case  the  said  Murphy  shall  use  all  reasonable  and 
possible  means  in  his  power  to  capture  the  said  Bass  and  his  above 
named  associates,  and  if  Major  John  B.  Jones  will  .certify  to  such 
facts  to  the  United  States  District  Attorney,  then  the  said  Murphy 
is  to  have  the  relief  named  in  ss.ctino2nd  above,  although  he  may 
be  unsuccessful.  (Signed)  A.  J.  Evans, 

May  21st,  1878.  U.  S.  Attorney.” 

This  contract,  as  seen  by  the  date  attached,  was  entered  into 
May  21st,  the  first  day  of  the  trial  at  Tyler. 


72 


Life  and  Adventures 


In  order  to  convince  Murphy  of  his  sincerity  and  his  power  to 
secure  his  liberation  from  all  charges,  Major  Jones  had  the  case 
against  his  father  dismissed  at  once.  With  many  admonitions  to 
prove  faithful  and  perform  his  task  well,  he  was  allowed  to  go  on 
his  mission.  It  was  immediately  given  out  that  he  had  “jumped 
his  bond,”  and  so  published  in  the  papers.  Previous  to  Murphy’s 
departure  it  was  arranged  that  he  should  report  progress  to  Major 
Jones,  Captain  Peak  or  Deptuy  Marshal  Johnson,  according  as  it 
was  most  convenient.  It  was  also  the  purpose  of  Major  Jones  to 
keep  Captain  Peak’s  command  at  Dallas,  so  that  Murphy  would 
know  where  they  were  and  could  make  his  calculations  accordingly. 
If  word  reached  Peak  that  he  was  needed  by  Murphy,  he  was  to 
hasten  to  the  required  point.  If,  however,  it  was  more  convenient 
to  communicate  with  Johnson,  the  latter  was  to  immediately  tel- 
egraph to  Captain  Peak  at  Dallas.  But  on  account  of  the  pressure 
of  public  opinion — because  the  public  didn’t  understand  the  situa- 
tion— it  was  found  very  difficult  to  keep  Captain  Peak’s  command 
at  Dallas.  . People  were  greatly  excited  and  extremely  nervous  lest 
Bass  should  escape.  They  were  also  impatient  of  the  delays  and 
failures  which  had  attended  the  efforts  of  the  Sheriffs  and  rangers 
in  Denton  and  the  western  counties.  The  air  was  constantly  full 
of  rumors,  and  every  straw  of  Bass  news  was  eagerly  caught  at  by 
the  reading  public.  Newspaper  men  were  constantly  on  the  alert 
for  the  latest,  the  truest  or  the  wildest  report  about  this  “greatest  of 
modern  bandits.”  An  amusing  instance  of  this  occurred  to  two 
newspaper  reports  in  Dallas. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  ths  grass  had  been  green  upon 
the  grave  of  Bass’  mother  for  seventeen  years,  yet  one  of  these  re- 
porters was  suddenly  persuaded  one  morning  that  he  heard  her 
name  echoed  through  the  air  on  the  voice  of  the  winds.  He  im- 
mediately laid  plains  to  clutch  the  fact  and  make  it  his  own.  But 
we  leave  the  story  to  a reporter  who  slyly  watched  proceedings 
and  told  it  at  the  time  as  follows: 

“This  morning  an  item  reached  the  ears  of  a newspaper  man 
which  was  full  of  promise.  He  was  told  in  confidence  that  Sam 
Bass’  mother  was  in  town,  and  the  strides  he  made  as  he  struck  out 
for  her  supposed  stopping  place,  the  St.  Charles  hotel,  were  a 
wonder  to  see.  Here  was  fruit,  surely  and  he  congratulated  him- 
self as  he  tore  along  at  his  good  luck,  and  he  chucked  at  the  thought 
of  having  struck  the  biggest  thing  yet.  In  fact,  he  hadn’t  been  so 
happy  since  the  Saving’s  bank  “busted.”  The  proprietor  of  the  hotel 
named  was  the  first  man  run  against,  and  the  news  gatherer  press- 
ed him  into  service  and  the  two  proceeded  to  find  the  individual 
who  could  put  them  on  the  track  of  Sammy’s  mamma.  Their  search 


of  Sam  Bass 


73 


was  successful,  and  a sable  gentleman  with  chalk  eye  and  gizzard 
foot  was  ushered  into  the  reportorial  presence.  Interrogatories 
breathless  and  pointed  were  put  to  Sambo,  and  imagine  the  conster- 
nation created  when  he  said  the  venerable  Mrs.  B.  had  just  depart- 
ed for  Denton. 

“Knowing  the  utter  uselessness  of  trying  to  overtake  a member 
of  the  Bass  family,  the  reporter  determined  to  make  the  most  out 
of  what  the  darkey  knew  about  her,  and  a scorching  examination 
revealed  the  fact  that  the  woman  told  him  that  she  was  ‘some  kin 
to  Massa  Bass,’  and  considering  her  elderly  appearance  he  ‘kalke- 
lated’  she  was  his  mother;  and  as  she  went  towards  Denton  he  ‘kal- 
kelated’  that  town  was  her  destination.  This  put  a different  face 
on  matters,  indeed.  The  reporter  looked  daggers  at  the  ’coon,  threat- 
ened to  stab  him  through  and  through  with  a Faber,  and  he  would 
have  reached  the  office  sadder  and  wiser  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
fact  that  just  as  he  was  leaving  another  victimized  newspaper  man 
came  stealing  around,  having  gotten  wind  of  the  bonanza.  ‘Mis- 
ery likes  company,’  you  know,  and  No.  2 was  permitted  to  work  up 
the  case,  and  together  the  boys  shared  the  immense  water  haul.” 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  BETRAYER  WITH  THE  BAND 

Murphy  Joins  Bass — Plans  to  Betray  Him  Fail — The  Band  Set  Out 
On  Their  Last  Trip — Visit  to  Dallas  County — Muhphy’s  Treach- 
ery Discovered — Jackson  Saves  Him  From  Death — Visit  to  Rock- 
wall, Terrell,  and  Waco — Searching  for  a Bank  to  Rob — The  Last 
Piece  of  Stolen  Gold  — Murphy  Writes  to  Jones  — Arrival  at 
Round  Rock. 

The  adventures  of  James  Murphy  in  the  prosecution  of  his  plan 
to  capture  Bass  are  of  thrilling  interest  and  are  given  nearly  as  he 
afterwards  related.  As  soon  as  he  was  released  at  Tyler,  May  21st, 
he  returned  to  his  home  near  the  line  between  Denton  and  Cooke 
counties.  At  that  time  Bass  and  his  gang  were  in  the  mountains 
and  cedar  brakes  of  Stephens  county.  Murphy  could  not  reach  them 
at  the  time.  But  about  two  weeks  later  they  returned  to  Denton 
county,  and  on  the  6th  of  May  dashed  into  the  town  of  Denton. 
They  were  hotly  pursued  on  the  6th,  7th  and  8th  and  on  the  9th 
they  took  refuge  at  Murphy’s  house.  When  he  saw  them  coming  he 


74 


Life  and  Adventures 


is  reported  to  have  bounded  forward  to  greet  them  with  unbounded 
hypocritical  enthusiasm.  He  told  them,  which  was  true,  that  he 
had  been  “laying  out”  for  two  weeks,  trying  to  get  with  them,  but 
the  opportunity  had  never  offered. 

About  this  time  he  learned  that  Sheriff  Everhart  was  also  in  the 
secret  and  he  entered  into  a plan  at  his  own  house  to  betray  the  band 
to  him.  Murphy  told  him  he  would  have  two  of  them  back  of  his 
field  that  night  and  that  he  could  arrest  them  if  he  wanted  to.  But 
for  some  reason  which  Murphy  does  not  know  the  sheriff’s  party  did 
not  come.  Murphy  then  mounted  a good  horse  and  arming  himself 
with  a six-shooter,  went  off  with  the  band#  As  we  have  already 
seen,  they  continued  their  course  towards  Bolivar  and  secretly 
entered  the  town. 

From  Bolivar  Bass  hastened  west  to  Wise  county,  where  the 
Salt  Creek  fight  occurred.  While  there  Bass  stole  some  horses  and 
returned  to  the  north  part  of  Denton  county.  Murphy  says: 

“I  laid  a plan  to  bring  the  gang  to  Bolivar,  and  after  I got  the 
gang  there  I told  Clay  Withers  and  Taylor  just  where  the  gang 
were,  and  that  they  would  go  to  Billy  Mount’s  stable,  in  Denton, 
to  steal  his  horses,  and  I would  stay  outside.  The  men  I had  there 
were  Sam  Bass  and  Frank  Jackson.  No  action  was  taken  that 
night.  The  next  night  three  of  us,  Sam,  Frank,  and  myself,  went  to 
Mount’s  stable  and  stole  a horse,  there  in  Denton,  and  then  went 
to  Elm  Bottom.  We  stole  the  horse  about  12  o’clock  at  night; 
Sam  and  Frank  went  into  the  stable  and  got  the  horse.  We  got  to 
Elm  Bottom  about  daylight  and  slept  some  fifteen  or  twenty  min- 
utes there.  Then  we  went  across  Big  Elm  at  Rock  Crossing.  We 
camped  on  this  (east)  side  of  Elm  Bottom  and  stopped  there  for 
breakfast;  laid  there  until  noon;  then  Sam  noticed  a good  many 
men  on  the  road  and  directed  us  to  saddle;  then  we  went  along  the 
bottom  to  near  Hilltown,  where  we  camped  again;  stole  some  corn 
and  had  dinner.  We  then  traveled  through  a big  pasture  and  got 
kind  of  lost.  We  stopped  at  the  house  of  a man  named  Burton,  I 
think,  some  ten  miles  from  Dallas,  all  night.  Next  day  we  went 
to  W.  O.  Collins’  and  stopped  there  about  two  hours.  Sam  went 
there  but  could  not  get  anything.  We  did  not  go  to  the  house. 
We  then  went  northeast  to  a church  and  met  Seaborn  Barnes.” 

While  here  Henry  Collins,  in  company  with  a stranger,  brought 
the  news  from  Fort  Worth  that  Jim  was  a traitor  in  the  camp; 
that  he  was  in  collusion  with  the  Rangers.  Upon  this  Jim  was  no- 
tified that  he  would  have  to  die,  and  they  asked  him  what  he  had 
to  say.  Jim  replied  that  it  was  all  true  what  Collins  said,  but  that 
he  had  entered  into  an  agreement  to  get  away  from  the  officers  of 
the  law,  inasmuch  as  he  was  indicted  and  would  have  to  go  to  the 


of  Sam  Bass 


75 


penitentiary.  His  intention  then  as  now,  was  to  give  them  the 
“slip,”  and  that  if  they  would  let  him  live  and  remain  with  them,  he 
would  take  the  lead  in  all  they  undertook.  Jackson  plead  for 
Murphy  also.  He  said  he  had  known  him  from  a boy,  and  didn’t 
believe  that  Murphy  would  betray  them.  They  let  the  matter  rest 
there.  But  Bass  and  Barnes  were  not  convinced  that  all  was  right 
and  were  sullen  all  that  night.  The  talk  was  a long  and  earnest 
one,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  party  were  on  the  point  of 
riddling  Murphy  with  bullets.  After  that  Bass  kept  a strict 
watch  over  him,  and  he  found  it  almost  impossible  to  communicate 
with  any  one. 

Murphy  resumes  his  narrative  of  this  and  succeeding  events 
as  follows : 

“It  was  this  meeting  with  Barnes  that  nearly  cost  me  my  life,  as 
on  that  night  the  rest  of  the  crowd  got  the  information  that  I was 
a spy.  There  was  a stranger  with  Barnes  when  we  met  him.  We 
talked  a long  time  there,  and  I convinced  Frank  Jackson  that  I 
had  sold  out  to  Major  Jones  to  fool  him  and  get  out  of  a bad  scrape 
myself.  He  stuck  to  me  or  I should  have  been  killed  that  night,  and 
I owe  my  life  to  him.  After  talking  a long  time  we  started  togeth- 
er and  kept  on  towards  Rockwall.  The  next  night  we  stopped  all 
night  near  Rockwall.  The  camp  was  near  the  edge  of  town,  and 
while  there  Bass  looked  up  and  saw  the  gallows  on  which  a man 
had  recently  been  hung.  He  said,  ‘Boys,  if  I had  seen  that  I would 
not  have  stopped  here.  It  makes  me  feel  bad  to  look  at  it.  How  I 
would  hate  to  die  on  that.’  (Many  readers  will  remember  that  this 
gallows  was  erected  for  the  execution  of  Garner,  the  murderer  of 
the  Sheriff.  But  the  night  before  his  execution,  his  wife  went 
into  the  cell  with  poison  upon  her  person,  intending  to  die  with 
him.  The  poison  not  proving  sufficient,  Garner  hung  his  wife  to 
the  prison  wall  with  the  bale  of  a bucket,  and  then  choked  himself 
to  death  by  filling  his  mouth  and  nostrils  with  strips  of  cloth  torp 
from  his  clothes.  When  the  jailor  visited  the  cell  at  the  dawn  of  day 
he  had  just  expired.  No  greater  prison  horror  has  ever  occurred 
in  the  country.)  “We  then  struck  out  towards  Terrell,  and  got 
there  late  in  the  evening  and  struck  camp  just  south  of  the  town 
about  8 p.  m.  Next  morning  Bass  and  Jackson  went  into  Terrell 
and  viewed  the  bank,  and  came  back  and  said  they  did  not  be- 
lieve we  could  make  it.  I proposed  viewing  some  other  banks  and 
taking  the  easiest.  We  then  struck  out  for  Kaufman,  and  Barnes 
and  me  went  into  Kaufman  and  bought  a suit  of  clothes,  and  left 
my  old  clothes  in  the  store,  as  a guide  to  Everheart  and  others  who 
might  bs  on  the  hunt  for  us.  We  found  no  suitable  bank  there 
and  passed  on  down  to  Ennis.  I could  not  leave  them  a moment 


76 


Life  and  Adventures 


to  telegraph,  and  had  to  stay  with  them.  We  stopped  a day  and 
night  at  Ennis.  Sam  and  me  examined  the  bank,  and  thought  it 
unsafe  to  tackle  it,  as  it  was  too  high  for  us.  We  then  struck  for 
Waco;  reached  there  about  1 p.  m.,  and  camped  on  the  north  side 
of  town.  Frank  and  me  went  into  town,  looked  around,  put  our 
horses  into  a livery  stable,  got  shaved,  got  dinner  in  a restaurant, 
then  got  a $5  bill  changed  in  the  bank  and  saw  lots  of  money,  and 
we  returned  and  reported  to  Bass,  and  I suggested  that  he  (Bass) 
better  go  and  see  it  as  Frank  Jackson  was  excited.  Next  morn- 
ing we  were  on  the  south  side  of  town,  and  Bass  and  Jackson  went 
and  looked  at  it,  and  decided  to  rob  the  Waco  bank.  So  that 
evening  we  all  moved  our  camp  up  on  the  west  side  of  the  Bosque 
river,  to  look  out  a place  to  retreat  to.  Sam  then  proposed  that 
Frank  Jackson  and  me  should  go  in  and  see  where  to  hitch  our 
horses  and  get  some  bacon,  lard  and  coffee,  and  arrange  for  re- 
treat if  we  robbed  the  bank.  On  the  way  I worked  upon  Frank  as 
to  the  dangers  of  it,  so  that  he  decided  not  to  rob  it,  but  I did  not 
know  what  conclusion  they  had  arrived  at  until  next  morning  at 
breakfast.  Up  to  this  time  I had  no  word  from  anybody,  and 
was  anxious  to  get  some  one  on  the  trail.  Bass  said.  ‘Jim,  we’ll 
go  where  you  say.’  We  then  went  south  of  town  again,  and  that 
night,  before  leaving  Waco,  Seaborn  Barnes  went  and  stole  a fine 
pacing  mare,  with  two  white  hind  feet,  the  one  he  had  when  he  was 
killed. 

“At  Belton  I sold  SeabornBarnes’  horse  and  gave  a bill  of  sale  in 
my  name,  to  leave  a clue.  I also  wrote  a letter  to  Johnson  and 

Everheart a few  lines  only — for  God’s  sake  come  at  once,  as  we 

are  bound  for  Round  Rock  to  rob  the  bank  there.  I slipped  it 
in  the  postoffice.  After  we  left  Belton  we  went  to  Georgetown. 
There  I wrote  to  Major  Jones,  at  Austin,  that  we  were  at 
Georgetown,  and  on  our  way  to  Round  Rock  to  rob  the  railroad 
bank,  or  to  be  killed,  and  to  prevent  it  for  God’s  sake.  I just 
got  that  letter  in  as  Bass  came  in.  He  asked  me  what  I was  doing 
in  there  so  long.  I said  I was  trying  to  talk  this  man  out  of  his 
paper.  The  man  took  the  hint,  threw  down  the  paper,  and  said  he 
would  loan  but  said  he  could  not  sell  it.  Bass  said  ‘that’s  all  right,’ 
and  I read  it  to  him  one  side.  Then  we  went  on  to  Round  Rock 
and  camped  out  about  a quarter  of  a mile  west  of  old  Round  Rock 
town,  on  the  San  Saba  road,  and  bought  feed  and  grub  there  from 
May  & Black;  also  bought  some  in  the  town.  This  was  on  Sun- 
day night.  We  fooled  around  until  Friday.” 

Some  matters  of  local  interest  are  not  given  in  the  above  narra- 
tive. 

At  Terrell,  Hall  & Company’s  bank  was  thought  the  best  one  to 


of  Sam  Bass 


77 


i 


rob,  but  they  didn’t  think  it  safe  to  try  the  job.  Their  appearance 
in  this  town  as  afterwards  described  was  as  follows: 

“One  drizzly  day,  some  weeks  ago,  there  rode  down  Moore  ave- 
nue five  mounted  men,  with  a shotgun  each  thrown  across  their 
saddles  in  front  of  them.  The  leader  was  a devil-may-care  looking 
fellow,  with  a saucy  cock  of  his  sombrero  on  the  side  of  his  head, 
and  an  eye  like  an  eagle.  The  balance  of  the  cavalcade  were  rowdy- 
ish  enough,  wearing  slop-shop  clothes  and  rakish  hats.  They  disap- 
peared at  the  east  end  of  the  avenue  and  finally  turned  up  on 
Bread  street  on  foot.  They  were  seen  to  enter  Messrs.  Holt 
Bevins  & Cooley’s  bank,  come  out  and  walk  up  and  down  the  Star 
Block,  and  then  go  in  the  direction  of  Uncle  Jim  Harris’  livery 
stable.  Back  of  this,  it  appears,  they  had  hitched  their  horses,  and 
springing  into  their  saddles  they  rode  leisurely  in  a northeasterly 
direction.  It  now  turns  out  that  these  men  were  the  famous  ban- 
dits— Sam  Bass  and  his  reckless  followers — as  the  description  since 
minutely  given  of  them,  corresponds  to  a dot  to  the  noted  and  chiv- 
alric  brigand  and  his  devoted  men.” 

At  Kaufman,  they  strolled  around  town  during  the  afternoon, 
and  went  into  camp  in  the  woods  nearby.  The  next  morning  Bass, 
Jackson  and  Murphy  went  back  to  the  town,  got  their  horses  shod, 
Sam  and  Frank  got  shaved,  went  and  got  their  horses  after  they 
were  shod,  put  them  in  the  livery  stable  and  had  them  fed;  and 
then  went  to  the  hotel  and  got  their  dinners.  Then  they  went 
over  to  the  east  side  of  town  and  entered  the  largest  store  there 
was  in  town.  The  object  wTas  to  find  a safe  to  rob  that  night.  Sam 
Bass  threw  a twenty-dollar  bill  on  the  counter  and  asked  the  old 
man  of  the  store  to  change  it.  He  took  the  bill  and  went  to  the  safe. 
When  he  opened  the  safe,  Sam  Bass  took  a good  look  into  it,  and 
afterwards  said  there  was  scarcely  money  enough  in  it  to  change 
the  bill.  They  then  returned  to  camp  and  started  out  for  Ennis 
where  they  camped  a mile  from  town.  Bass  and  Murphy  rode  into 
Ennis  and  took  a look  at  the  bank.  They  put  their  horses  in  a 
livery  stable,  took  dinner  at  a hotel,  and  took  a second  look  at 
the  Ennis  bank  and  concluded  that  it  was  fixed  too  well  to  rob. 

While  at  Waco,  Bass  went  to  the  Ranche  saloon,  and  after  tak- 
ing a drink  threw  a twenty-dollar  gold  piece  on  the  counter.  This 
was  the  last  of  the  money  obtained  in  the  Union  Pacific  robbery,  and 
he  remarked  afterwards,  “It  is  all  gone,  now,  and  that  is  all  the 
good  it  has  done  me.” 


78 


Life  and  Adventures 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  LAST  FIGHT 

Inspecting  the  Round  Rock  Bank — Major  Jones  and  the  Rangers — 
Going  to  Town  After  Tobacco  and  Things — The  Fight  Begins — 
Sheriff  Grimes  Killed  — Sharp  Conflict  on  the  Street  — Bass 
Pierced  With  a Bullet — Barnes  Shot  Dead  While  Mounting  His 
Horse — Escape  of  Bass  and  Jackson — Murphy  Appears  on  the 
Scene  of  Conflict. 

As  we  have  seen,  according  to  Murphy’s  statement,  the  gang 
reached  the  vicinity  of  Round  Rock  Sunday  evening,  July  14th,  and 
there  went  into  camp.  The  next  night  they  moved  their  camp  near- 
er new  Round  Rock,  south  of  the  grave-yard,  near  some  negro  quar- 
ters. Here  they  remained,  resting  their  horses  and  visiting  the 
town,  going  into  the  bank  and  taking  a good  look  at  the  situation. 
Bass  and  Murphy  both  had  $5  bills  changed  at  the  bank.  Murphy 
delayed  the  robbers  as  long  as  he  could,  in  order  to  give  Major 
Jones  time  to  arrive.  Finally,  when  their  horses  were  fully  rest- 
ed and  the  bank  and  all  its  surroundings  had  been  thoroughly 
examined,  Bass  fixed  upon  the  following  plan  of  robbery: 

They  were  all  to  go  to  the  bank  on  foot,  leaving  their  horses 
hitched  in  an  alley  near  the  bank.  Barnes  was  to  give  the  cashier 
a $5  bill  to  change — the  last  they  had,  so  it  is  said — and  while  he 
was  doing  this  Bass  was  to  go  behind  the  counter  and  level  his  pis- 
tol at  the  cashier  and  make  him  hold  up  his  hands,  when  Barnes 
would  jump  over  the  counter,  take  the  money  and  put  it  in  a sack. 
In  the  meantime  Jackson  and  Murphy  were  to  stand  in  the  door  of 
the  bank  to  keep  anybody  from  coming  in.  After  getting  the  money 
they  were  to  move  out  the  San  Saba  road  a short  distance,  then  turn 
to  the  right,  go  up  west  of  Georgetown  and  make  their  way  up  to 
Denton,  where  they  proposed  to  kill  Deputy  Sheriffs  McGing  and 
Wetzell,  of  Denton  county. 

They  swore  death  to  Billy  Scott,  the  witness,  if  they  had  to  ride 
to  Dallas  for  hi  m.  Saturday,  July  20th,  was  the  day  fixed  upon  for 
the  robbery.  It  was  to  be  in  the  afternoon  just  as  the  bank  was  to  be 
closed,  at  which  time  they  expected  all  the  business  men  would 
have  deposited  their  money. 

In  the  meantime  Major  Jones  had  received  Murphy’s  letter  from 
Belton  and  Georgetown  at  Austin.  As  soon  as  the  letter  reached 
him  he  immediately  sent  to  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  in  command  of 
a squad  of  rangers  at  Lampasas,  to  meet  him  at  Round  Rock  the 


of  Sam  Bass 


79 


next  morning.  Three  men  were  also  sent  to  Round  Rock  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  18th,  and  the  Major  himself  followed  on  the 
first  train.  He  took  with  him  Maurice  Moore,  deputy  sheriff  of 
Travis  county,  whom  he  happened  to  meet  on  the  street  as  he  was 
going  to  the  depot.  Moore  was  formerly  a sergeant  in  his  command. 
Arriving  at  Round  Rock  he  went  to  the  postoffice,  expecting  a letter 
from  Murphy,  but  found  none.  He  then  warned  the  banker  that  the 
robbers  were  in  the  vicinity,  and  would  probably  attempt  to  rob 
them.  He  called  on  Deputy  Sheriff  Grimes,  who  was  once  a member 
of  his  command,  and  took  him  and  Mfe*.  Albert  Highsmith  into  his 
confidence.  They  sent  spies  out  to  search  the  country  round  for  the 
robbers’  camp.  At  nightfall,  having  heard  nothing  of  the  robbers, 
and  not  knowing  but  what  they  had  passed  on  to  Austin,  or  con- 
cluded to  strike  the  train  at  some  other  point,  Major  Jones  notified 
Captain  Hall  and  the  Sheriff  and  United  States  Marshal  to  look  out 
for  them  in  Austin,  and  telegraphed  the  railroad  officers  at  Hearne 
and  Austin  to  have  the  trains  guarded. 

That  night  he  had  his  men  concealed  at  the  depot  to  protect  the 
train,  and  also  had  the  town  thoroughly  patrolled.  Next  morning 
his  spies  were  out  by  daylight,  searching  the  country  for  the  camp. 
His  men  were  instructed  particularly  to  keep  a lookout  about  the 
bank.  About  noon,  having  learned'  that  Lieutenant  Reynolds  had 
removed  from  Lampasas  to  San  Saba,  and  fearing  that  he  would 
not  arrive  in  time,  he  telegraphed  to  Austin  for  Captain  Hall, 
who  arrived  at  2 o’clock  p.  m.  After  consultation  they  telegraphed 
.to  Austin  for  Lieutenant  Armstrong  and  some  of  Hall’s  men,  as  it 
was  supposed  the  robbers  numbered  seven  or  eight  men. 

The  critical  hour  was  not  at  hand.  But  we  turn  back  for  a mo'- 
ment  to  follow  the  movements  of  the  robbers  as  they  approached 
the  scene  of  deadly  conflict. 

“Friday  morning,  the  19th,  says  Murphy,  “Frank  Jackson  and 
me  went  into  town  to  look  for  rangers,  as  Sam  Bass  said  he  saw  two 
rangers  who  lookd  like  cow-boys.  So  we  went  to  see,  and  we  could 
not  find  any,  and  at  eleven  o’.clock  we  left  town  and  reported  to 
Bass.  We  then  smoked  awhile,  and  agreed  that  all  should  go  to 
town  after  some  tobacco  and  things,  as  we  should  rob  the  bank 
next  day.  When  we  arrived  at  the  old  town  I suggested  remaining 
there  to  see  if  I could  learn  anything  of  the  rangers.  They  agreed 
to  this,  and  Bass,  Barnes  and  Jackson  went  into  the  new  town.” 

Murphy’s  work  was  now  accomplished.  What  immediately 
follows  is  best  told  by  Deputy  Sheriff  Maurice  Moore:  “About 

4 p.  m.,”  he  says,  “I  was  standing  in  front  of  Smith’s  livery  stable, 
and  three  men  passed  up  the  street.  Smith  remarked  to  me, 
‘There  go  three  strangers.’  I noticed  them  carefully  and  thought 
one  of  them  had  a six-shooter1  under  his  coat.  The  others  were 


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Life  and  Adventures 


carrying  saddle-bags.  They  looked  at  me  rather  hard  and  went 
across  the  street  into  a store.  I walked  up  the  street  to  where 
Grimes,  the  Deputy  Sheriff  of  Williamson  county  was  standing, 
and  remarked  to  him,  T think  one  of  those  men  has  a six-shooter 
on.’  Grimes  remarked  to  me,  ‘Let  me  go  over  and  see.’  We 
walked  across  the  street  and  went  into  ths  store.  Not  wishing  to 
let  them  know  I was  watching  them,  I stood  up  inside  the  store 
door  with  my  hands  in  my  pockets,  whistling.  Grimes  approached 
them  carelessly  and  asked  one  if  he  had  not  a six-shooter.  They 
all  three  replied,  ‘Yes/  and  at  the  same  instant  two  of  them  shot 
Grimes  and  one  shot  me. 

After  I had  fired  my  first  shot  I couldL  not  see  the  men  on  ac- 
count of  the  smoke.  They  continued  shooting  and  so  did  I,  until 
I fired  five  shots;  as  they  passed  out  I saw  one  man  bleeding  from 
the  arm  and  side;  I then  leaned  against  the  store  door,  feeling 
faint  and  sick,  and  recovering  myself,  I started  on  and  fired  the 
remaining  shot  at  one  of  the  men. 

“Having  lent  one  of  my  pistols  to  another  man  the  day  before, 
I stopped  and  reloaded  my  pistol,  went  into  the  stable  and  got  my 
Winchester  and  started  in  pursuit  of  them,  and  was  stopped  by 
Dr.  Morris,  who  said,  ‘Hold  on;  don’t  go  any  further,  for  if  you  get 
over-heated  your  wound  may  kill  you;’  I stopped  and  gave  my 
Winchester  to  another  man;  went  with  the  Doctor  and  Judge 
Schultz  to  the  hotel;  Grimes  did  not  have  time  to  draw  his  pistol; 
six  bullet  holes  were  put  through  his  body.”  Sheriff  Moore  was 
shot  through  the  left  lung. 

In  the  meantime  the  three  rangers  had  come  from  where  they 
•were  stationed  and  fired  on  the  robbers  as  they  retreated  across 
the  street.  Major  Jones,  who  was  coming  from  the  telegraph 
office  when  the  firing  began,  ran  to  the  Robinson  corner,  when 
seeing  the  situation,  he  called  on  his  men,  drew  his  pistol,  ran  up 
the  street,  and  when  within  fifty  yards  of  the  robbbers,  commenced 
firing  upon  them.  One  of  the  robbers  turned  as  he  reached  the 
corner  around  which  they  are  retreating  and  fired  delibertately 
at  Major  Jones,  the  ball  passing  over  his  head  and  entering  the 
wall  of  a building  in  his  rear.  At  this  time  the  excitement  in  the 
town  was  fearful  to  witness.  Men  were  running  in  every  direction, 
some  to  get  out  of  range  of  the  whistling  bullets  and  take  shelter 
behind  a friendly  corner,  tree  or  post;  others  to  get  such  arms  as 
they  could  lay  their  hands  on  and  join  in  the  fight;  women  and 
children  were  screaming  and  flying  from  the  houses  between  and 
around  which  the  robbers  were  retreating.  All  this  presented  a 
scene  which  beggars  description.  The  robbers  retreated  across 
the  street,  half  way  up  the  square  and  down  the  alley,  at  the  lower 


of  Sam  Bass 


81 


end  of  which  their  horses  were  hitched,  closely  pursued  and  constant- 
ly fired  at  by  rangers  and  citizens,  but  taking  shelter  and  firing  back 
at  their  pursuers  at  every  convenient  place.  When  half  way  down 
the  alley,  Bass  received  his  second  wound,  the  one  which  caused  his 
death. 

This  fatal  shot  which  ended  the  wild  career  of  the  robber  chieftian, 
was  fired  by  George  Harrell,  a ranger. 

Just  as  the  robbers  reached  their  horses,  R.  C.  Ware,  one  of  the 
rangers,  took  deliberate  aim  at  one  of  them  and  shot  him  through  the 
head,  killing  him  instantly.  As  the  other  two  mounted  and  ran  off, 
Major  Jones,  Ware,  and  J.  F.  Tubbs,  a one-armed  citizen  who  had 
taken  Grimes’  pistol  and  joined  in  the  fight,  fired  several  shots  at 
them  but  without  effect.  F.  L,  Jordan  fired  at  the  robbers  from 
the  back  door  of  his  store  as  they  ran  down  the  alley.  Albert  High- 
smith  shot  at  them  from  the  back  yard  of  his  stable,  and  might 
have  killed  one  of  them  had  not  a cartridge  shell  hung  in  his  Win- 
chester. 

Captain  Hall  was  at  the  hotel  lying  down  when  the  fight  started, 
but  was  quickly  on  the  spot  with  Winchester  and  pistol  in  hand, 
mounted  a horse  which  happened  to  be  ‘near  and,  accompanied  by 
the  three  rangers,  one  of  whom  rode  the  dead  robber’s  (Barnes) 
horse,  gave  chase  to  the  flying  robbers.  Several  citizens  who  had 
horses  at  hand  went  with  him.  As  soon  as  Major  Jones  could  get  a 
horse  he,  accompanied  by  Major  Dick  Mangrum  and  several  other 
citizens,  went  in  pursuit  of  the  robbers  also,  but  they  did  not  go 
more  than  two  or  three  miles  before  the  old  plug  which  the  Major 
had  gotten  from  the  livery  stable  played  out  and  the  party  returned. 

Capt.  Hall  pursued  the  robbers  until  the  trail  was  lost  in  the  brush 
and  then  returned  to  town,  as  it  was  too  near  night  and  his  horses 
were  too  nearly  broken  down  to  follow  further. 

When  the  flying  robbers  passed  through  old  Round  Rock,  Jim 
Murphy  was  still  there  and  saw  them  as  they  dashed  by.  He  says: 

“I  was  sitting  in  a door  at  old  Round  Rock  as  they  came  by,  and 
Frank  was  holding  Bass  on  his  horse.  Bass  looked  pale  and  sickly, 
and  his  hand  was  bleeding,  and  he  seemed  to  be  working  cartridges 
into  his  pistol.  Jackson  looked  at  me  as  much  as  to  say,  Jim,  save 
yourself  if  you  can.  Barnes  had  been  killed  instantly.  I then  saw 
Major  Jones  go  by,  and  hallooed  to  him,  but  he  did  not  hear  me.  I 
then  went  into  the  new  town;  there  was  a good  deal  of  excitement, 
and  some  one  asked  who  the  dead  man  was.  I said  if  it  is  the  Bass 
gang,  it  must  be  Seaborn  Barnes.  Some  one  asked  how  they  would 
know.  I said  he  has  got  four  bullet  holes  in  his  legs — three  in  his 
right  and  one  in  his  left  leg,  which  he  got  at  Mesquite.  They  found 
the  wounds,  and  was  going  to  arrest  me,  when  Major  Jones  came  up, 


82 


Life  and  Adventures 


and  shortly  after  recognized  me,  and  I went  down  with  him  and 
identified  the  dead  body  as  that  of  Seaborn  Barnes.” 

About  two  hours  after  the  fight,  Lieutenant  Reynolds  arrived 
with  ten  men,  having  ridden  from  San  Saba,  a distance  of  one  hun- 
dred miles  since  seven  o’clock  the  evening  before.  He  left  his  men 
a mile  or  two  out  of  town  and  came  in  to  report  to  Major  Jones 
secretly  before  bringing  his  men  in. 

Later  in  the  evening  Lieutenant  Armstrong’s  party  from  Austin 
arrived. 

<$ 

CHAPTER  XXI 

CAPTURE  AND  DEATH 

Pursuit  of  the  Robbers  — Bass  Discovered  Under  a Live  Oak  — 
Fatally  Wounded — Taken  to  Town — Attempt  to  Se.cure  a Con- 
fession— His  Dying  Statements — Game  to  the  Last — Death-Bed 
Scene.  , 

It  was  fully  known  that  one  of  the  robbers  who  had  escaped  was 
badly  wounded,  as  he  made  two  attempts  before  he  was  able  to 
mount  his  saddle.  He  was  also  seen  holding  up  his  hand  as  he  dashed 
away,  and  apparently  maintained  his  seat  with  great  difficulty.  As 
we  have  already  seen,  Murphy  was  very  positive  that  this  was  Bass. 

Major  Jones  was  therefore  greatly  elated  with  the  prospect  of  his 
capture  early  the  next  morning.  As  soon  as  it  was  light,  Sergeant 
Nevill  of  Lieutenant  Reynold’s  company,  with  eight  men  was  sent 
out  to  look  for  the  trail  and  continue  the  pursuit.  Deputy  Sheriff 
Tucker,  of  Georgetown,  was  sent  along  as  guide,  as  he  was  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  the  country.  The  party  proceeded  to  the 
point  where  the  trail  was  lost  the  evening  before.  This  was  about 
four  miles  from  town.  Soon  after  arriving  there,  a man  was  noticed 
lying  under  a tree,  not  far  from  the  new  railroad,  but  as  there  were 
some  mules  grazing  near  by  and  as  the  railroad  hands  were  not 
far  distant  Sheriff  Tucker  said  it  must  be  one  of  the  hands  and  no 
further  attention  was  paid  to  him. 

The  lost  trail  was  found  and  followed  until  it  divided.  After 
wandering  about  for  some  time  Sergeant  Nevill  again  emerged  upon 
the  prairie,  and  meeting  one  of  the  railroad  hands  asked  him  if  he 
had  seen  a wounded  man  in  the  vicinity.  He  replied  that  there 
was  a man  lying  under  “that  tree  out  there,”  pointing  to  the  man 
seen  before,  “who  was  hurt,  and  who  said  that  he  was  a .cattle  man 


of  Sam  Bass 


83 


from  one  of  the  lower  counties,  and  had  been  in  Round  Rock  the 
day  before  and  getting  into  a little  difficulty,  had  been  shot.”  Ser- 
geant Nevill  at  once  approached  the  tree  and  when  within  about 
twenty  feet  of  it  the  wounded  man  held  up  his  hand  and  said: 
“Don’t  shoot;  I am  unarmed  and  helpless;  I am  the  man  you  are 
looking  for;  I am  Sam  Bass!” 

He  had  parted  with  Jackson  the  evening  before  after  giving  him 
his  rifle,  pistol  and  pocket-book,  feeling  convinced  that  he  would 
never  need  them  again.  During  the  long,  weary  hours  of  the  night 
he  lay  in  the  silent  woods  alone,  his  body  wracked  by  pain  and  his 
mind  harrassed  with  the  hopelessness  of  escape. 

In  the  morning  he  dragged  himself  out  in  the  hope  of  obtaining 
help.  Soon  after  a negro  came  by  with  a team  and  he  tried  to  hire 
him  to  haul  him  away  and  secrete  him,  but  failed. 

Major  Jones  was  notified,  and  in  company  with  Dr.  Cochran,  a 
physican  of  Round  Rock,  went  out  with  an  ambulance  to  bring  the 
prisoner  in.  After  an  examination  of  his  wounds,  the  Doctor  pro- 
nounced them  fatal  and  assured  the  bold  bandit  that  his  last  hour 
was  close  at  hand.  Bass  was  fully  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  the 
Doctor’s  opinion  and  expressed  no  hope  of  recovery. 

He  was  placed  in  the  ambulance  and  taken  to  Round  Rock,  and 
at  once  it  was  telegraphed  abroad  that  he  was  dying.  The  fatal 
bullet  had  entered  the  small  of  the  back  and  come  out  in  front. 
Much  attention  was  shown  him  by  Major  Jones  and  all  present,  and 
nothing  was  left  undone  to  soothe  his  pains,  in  hope  of  gaining  his 
confidence  and  softening  his  fixed  determination  to  reveal  nothing 
against  his  confederates  who  were  still  at  large. 

He  .continued  in  a sinking  condition  during  Saturday,  but  Sunday 
morning  seemed  much  better  and  at  once  began  to  entertain  a hope 
of  recovery.  His  physician  besought  him  to  make  a confession,  as 
he  must  soon  die  and  appear  before  the  Great  Judge.  But  the 
wounded  robber  turned  and  looking  coolly  up  at  the  Doctor,  said, 
“don’t  you  be  too  sure  of  that.” 

Major  Jones  tried  every  inducement  to  secure  important  state- 
ments from  him,  and  some  one  was  constantly  present  with  paper 
and  pencil  in  hand,  to  write  down  his  utterances,  but  nothing  val- 
uable in  the  way  of  evidence,  escaped  from  his  lips.  His  self-control 
and  resolute  purpose  to  remain  faithful  to  his  friends  were  wonder- 
ful. Though  surrounded  by  a number  of  shrewd  men  and  though 
constantly  interrogated  by  one  whose  long  experience  in  the  capture 
of  outlaws  had  given  him  a keen  insight  into  their  disposition  and 
made  him  an  adept  in  handling  them,  and  though  the  death  damp 
was  gathering  upon  his  brow,  and  final  dissolution  was  wrenching 
body  and  spirit  apart,  yet  his  wonderful  shrewdness  and  sagacity  of 


84 


Life  and  Adventures 


instinct  remained  intact.  Had  he  been  seated  at  a camp  fire  in  his 
old  fastness,  surrounded  by  his  pals  and  sound  in  health  and  limb, 
he  could  not  more  successfully  have  parried  the  interrogatives  put 
to  him  and  thwarted  the  purpose  of  his  captor. 

“I  tried  every  conceivable  plan,”  said  Major  Jones,  “to  obtain 
some  information  from  him,  but  to  no  purpose.  About  noon  on 
Sunday,  he  began  to  suffer  greatly  and  sent  for  me  to  know  if  I 
could  not  give  him  some  relief.  I did  everything  I could  for  him. 
Thinking  this  an  excellent  opportunity,  I said  to  him,  ‘Bass,  you 
have  done  much  wrong  in  this  world,  you  now  have  an  opportu- 
nity to  do  some  good  before  you  die  by  giving  some  information 
which  will  lead  to  the  vindication  of  that  justice  which  you  have 
so  often  defied  and  the  law  which  you  have  constantly  violated.’  He 
replied,  ‘No,  I won’t  tell.’  ‘Why  won’t  you?’  said  I.  ‘Because  it  is 
agin  my  profession  to  blow  on  my  pals.  If  a man  knows  anything 
he  ought  to  die  with  it  in  him.’  He  positively  refused  to  converse 
on  religion  and  in  reply  to  some  remark  made,  he  said  ‘I  am  go- 
ing to  Hell,  anyhow.’  I made  a particular  effort  to  obtain  some  in- 
formation from  him  in  regard  to  William  Collins.  I asked  him  if  he 
was  ever  at  Collins’  house.  He  said  no.  I then  put  the  question 
in  a different  form,  saying  ‘where  did  you  first  see  Will  Scott?’ 
He  replied  at  Bob  Murphy’s.  I then  said,  ‘You  saw  him  at  Green 
Hill’s  too,  didn’t  you?’  He  replied,  ‘yes.’  These  answers  were 
not  of  any  consequence,  but  I then  said,  ‘when  did  you  see  him  at 
William  Collins?’  He  said,  ‘I  don’t  remember,  as  I never  paid  at- 
tention to  dates,  being  always  on  the  scout,  I only  saw  him  these 
three  times.’  This  answer  was  important,  as  it  fixed  the  fact  that 
Bass  was  at  Collins’  house.  But  this  was  the  only  statement  of 
any  importance  which  he  made.  All  his  other  statements  were  of 
facts  well  known  or  concerning  individuals  beyond  the  reach  of  fu- 
ture justice.” 

Among  these  statements  he  said : 

“I  am  twenty-seven  years  old,  have  brothers  John  and  Denton,  at 
Mitchell,  Indiana.  Have  been  in  the  robbing  business  a long  time. 
Had  done  much  business  of  that  kind  before  the  U.  P.  robbery  last 
fall.” 

Q. — How  came  you  to  commence  this  kind  of  life? 

A. — Started  out  sporting  on  horses. 

Q,. — Why  did  you  get  worse  than  horse  racing? 

A. — Because  they  robbed  me  of  my  first  $300. 

Q. — After  they  robbed  you,  what  did  you  do  next? 

A. — Went  to  robbing  stages  in  the  Black  Hills — robbed  .seven. 
Got  very  little  money.  Jack  Davis,  Nixon  and  myself  were  all  that 
were  in  the  Black  Hills  stage  robberies.  Joel  Collins,  Bill  Heffrige, 


of  Sam  Bass 


85 


Tom  Nixon,  Jack  Davis,  Jim  Berry  and  me  were  in  the  Union  Pacfic 
robbery.  Tom  Nixon  is  in  Canada.  Have  not  seen  him  since  that 
robbery.  Jack  Davis  was  in  New  Orleans  from  the  time  of  the  Un- 
ion Pacfic  robbery  till  he  went  to  Denton  to  get  me  to  go  in  with 
him  and  buy  a ship.  This  was  the  last  of  April,  1878.  Gardner, 
living  in  Atascosa  county,  is  my  friend.  Was  at  his  house  last  fall. 
Went  to  Kansas  with  him  once.  Will  not  tell  who  was  in  the  Eagle 
Ford  robbery  besides  myself  and  Barnes.  When  we  were  in  the  store 
at  Round  Rock,  Grimes  asked  me  if  I had  a pistol,  I said  yes;  then 
all  three  of  us  drew  our  pistols  and  shot  him.  If  I killed  Grimes  it 
was  the  first  man  I ever  killed.  Henry  Collins  was  with  me  in  the 
Salt  Creek  fight  four  or  five  weeks  ago.  Arkansas  Johnson  was 
killed  in  that  fight.  Don’t  know  whether  Underwood  was  wounded 
or  not  at  Salt  Creek  fight.  ‘Sebe’  Barnes,  Frank  Jackson  and  Charles 
Carter  were  there.  We  were  all  set  afoot  in  that  fight,  but  stole 
horses  enough  to  remount  ourselves  in  three  hours,  or  as  soon  as 
dark  came;  after  which  we  went  back  to  Denton.  Stayed  there 
until  we  came  to  Round  Rock. 

Q. — Where  is  Jackson  now? 

A. — I don’t  know. 

Q. — How  do  you  usually  meet  after  being  scattered? 

A. — Generally  told  by  friends. 

Q. — Who  are  these1  friends? 

A I will  not  tell. 

This  was  his  usual  reply  to  questions  which  he  did  not  wish  to 
answer,  and  was  in  the  most  deliberate  manner  possible. 

Even  in  the  midst  of  his  intense1  agony  on  Sunday  afternoon  he 
clung  to  the  delusion  that  he  would  recover..  But  about  twenty 
minutes  before  his  death,  when  warned  by  his  physician  that  dis- 
solution was  near  at  hand,  he  calmly  replied,  ‘let  me  go.’ 

A few  minutes  later  he  said  to  his  nurse,  “the  world  is  bobbing 
around  me.”  His  pains  had  ceased  and  he  rested  at  ease.  There 
were  a few  gasps  and  he  was  dead.  This  was  at  4 p.  m.,  Sunday, 
June  21st. 

The  next  day  the  body  was  interred  at  Round  Rock.  And  thus 
the  earth  gathered  back  to  her  bosom  one  who  had  lived  to  harass 
and  torment  his  kind. 

What  is  known  in  regard  to  the  rest  of  the  band  is  easily  told. 
Jackson  made  good  his  escape,  reaching  Denton  county  two  hun- 
dred miles  distant  after  a three  days  ride.  But  his  capture  may 
occur  at  any  time.  Underwood  had  not  been  seen  since  the  Salt 
Creek  fight,  and  his  whereabouts  are  unknown.  Carter,  who  joined 
Bass  towards  the  last,  is  said  to  have  been  sent  out  of  the  country 


Life  and  Adventures 


by  his  father.  The  two  Collins,  under  indicment  by  the  grand 
jury,  are  still  in  concealment.  Jim  Murphy  received  his  reward, 
and  is  now  at  his  home  near  Rosston  in  Denton  county. 


<$> 

CHAPTER  XXII 

NOTES  AND  COMMENTS 

Excellent  Work  Accomplished  By  The  Authorities — A Word  Of 
Justification  for  Captain  Peak  — Local  Authorities  — Force  of 
Detectives  Needed  — Prevention  of  Crime  — Evil  Influences  of 
Horse- Racing  and  Gaming  — Need  of  Education  — No  Profit  in 
Crime. 

It  is  now  evident  that  there  was  some  remissness  in  not  making 
a more  prompt  and  determined  effort  to  hunt  down  the  train 
robbers  before  they  had  so  successfully  repeated  their  outrages. 
It  must  also  be  admitted  that  the  great  campaign  against  Bass  in 
Denton  and  Wise  counties  was  not  a success.  But  after  all  the 
State  of  Texas  has  reason  to  congratulate  herself  on  what  has  been 
accomplished.  The  first  robbery  was  committed  February  22,  and 
before  that  date  in  July  the  leader  of  the  gang  and  two  of  his  leading 
accomplices  had  been  laid  in  bloody  graves,  three  others  had  been 
convicted  and  sent  to  the  penitentiary,  one  other  is  still  in  jail,  five 
others  have  been  indicted  and  arrested  as  accessories,  and  are  now 
out  on  bond,  two  others  under  arrest  were  allowed  their  liberty  for 
services  rendered  the  State.  Only  two  principal  members  of  the 
band,  Jackson  and  Underwood  have  made  their  escape. 

This  makes  an  excellent  showing  for  our  authorities,  and  speaks 
well  for  the  determined  and  efficient  manner  in  which  the  band  has 
been  hunted  down  amid  wild  woods  and  a sparsely  populated  coun- 
try. It  was  thought  that  much  was  accomplished  by  the  pursuers 
of  the  Union  Pacific  robbers  and  yet  only  three  out  of  six  of  the 
robbers  were  captured.  But  in  the  case  of  the  Texas  train  robbers, 
six  out  of  eight  of  the  principals  in  the  crimes  have  ben  killed  or 
covicted.  If  we  number  Green  Hill  and  William  Collins  among  the 
principals,  the  former  is  safe  in  jail  at  Austin,  and  the  appearance 
of  the  latter  before  court  is  secured  by  a $15,000  bond. 

In  regard  to  the  failure  of  the  campaign  against  Bass,  justice 
requires  that  Captain  Peak  should  be  set  right  before  public  opinion. 
For  all  that  occurred  between  April  24th  and  May  21st  he  is  respons- 
ible to  the  just  expectations  of  the  public.  But  it  must  be  remem- 


of  Sam  Bass 


87 


bered  that  on  May  21st  the  contract  was  entered  into  with  James 
Murphy  to  betray  Bass,  and  in  furtherance  of  this  purpose  it  was 
arranged  that  Captain  Peak  should  hold  his  force  at  or  near  Dallas. 

The  agreement  with  Murphy  being  necessarily  concealed  from 
the  public  some  unjust  criticism  was  indulged  in  against  Captain 
Peak  for  his  inaction.  But  now  that  the  whole  plan  has  been  un- 
covered, it  is  plain  that  he  was  fully  justified  in  holding  his  com- 
mand stationary  at  a convenient  point  whore  Murphy  could  read- 
ily reach  him  with  his  communications.  But  on  account  of  the 
pressure  of  public  opinion  he  was  compelled  to  continue  more  ac- 
tively in  the  pursuit  of  the  gang  than  was  deemed  desirable.  This 
led  to  the  pursuit  of  the  band  into  Wise  county  and  the  fight  at 
Salt  Creiek  the  only  fight  in  the  long  pursuit  which  was  attended 
by  a good  result. 

In  regard  to  the  action  of  Sheriffs  and  local  authorities  there 
is  also  need  of  a word  of  explanation  and  justification.  The  laws 
of  the  State  make  no  provision  for  the  expenses  of  a sheriff’s 
posse  engaged  in  a prolonged  pursuit  of  outlaws.  It  matters  not 
how  far  or  how  long  a sheriff  may  ride,  or  how  many  armed  and 
mounted  men  he  may  employ  to  assist  him,  or  how  much  money  he 
may  spend  on  the  trip,  he  is  only  allowed  one  dollar  each  for  the 
criminals  he  may  capture,  and  that  after  conviction.  The  Sheriff 
of  Dallas  county  declared  that  he  could  not  pursue  that  gang  who 
robbbed  the  trains  in  the  county,  because  he  could  not  afford  it. 

It  will  be  a very  important  question  for  our  next  Legislature 
to  consider,  whether  the  laws  should  not  be  amended  in  this  re- 
spect, and  our  local  authorities  strengthened  and  made  far  more 
efficient  by  a proper  provision  for  necessary  expenses  in  cases  of 
emergency. 

Another  very  important  question  which  should  also  be  con- 
sidered, is  whether  it  would  not  be  well  for  the  State  to  employ  a 
regular  force  of  detectives  to  ferret  out  and  secure  the  arrest  of 
criminals. 

It  is  well  known  that  there  are  many  outlaws  and  fugitives 
from  justice  in  the  State.  A list  of  four  thousand  was  published 
not  long  since,  and  this  did  not  include  reports  from  a large  num- 
ber of  counties.  Many  criminals  have  also  escaped  from  other 
States  and  fled  to  Texas  for  refuge.  Against  these  outlaws  the 
State  police  is  performing  very  efficient  service.  But  their  efforts 
should  be  supplemented  by  detectives,  working  secretly  among  the 
outlaws,  discovering  them  in  their  hiding  places  and  securing  the 
proper  chain  of  evidence  for  their  conviction. 

There  has  been  too  much  of  a tendency  heretofore  to  rely  upon 
revolvers  and  bold  riders.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 


88 


Life  and  Adventures 


pell  mell  drive  after  Bass  accomplished  little,  while  to  a spy  and  to 
a betrayer  we  are  primarily  indebted  for  the  capture  of  leading 
members  and  final  overthrow  of  the  band.  The  method  pursued  for 
the  breaking  up  of  the  Molly  Maguires  is  very  instructive  in  this  con- 
nection. This  was,  perhaps,  the  worst  combination  of  outlaws  ever 
known  in  this  country.  When  Franklin  B.  Gowan,  president  of  the 
Beading  railroad,  determined  to  break  it  up,  he  employed  the  ablest 
of  Pinkerton’s  detectives  to  accomplish  the  task.  They  went  into 
the  counties  infegted  by  the  members  of  the  organization,  and  con- 
tinued their  efforts  until  they  arrested  and  convicted  more  than 
sixty  of  the  outlaws,  many  of  whom  were  hung.  Similar 
service  against  the,  thousands  of  criminals  who  infest  the  State, 
would  undoubtedly  be  attended  with  most  important  results. 

But  back  of  all  considerations  of  the  best  method  of  pursuing 
criminals,  lies  a still  more  important  question  not  only  for  the 
State  Government  but  for  society,  and  that  is  how  to  prevent  men 
from  becoming  criminals.  The  occasional  case  of  Sam  Bass’  crim- 
inal career  is  easily  stated.  He,  himself,  and  his  employes,  and 
peighbors  say,  that  it  was  the  purchase  of  the  race  mare.  Horse- 
racing soon  lead  him  into  a career  of  idleness  and  dissipation,  and 
from  that  the  descent  to  open  outlawry  was  easy. 

That  the  influence  of  horse-racing  and  gaming  was  ruinous  in  this 
instance,  is  a plain  fact,  testified  to  in  the  dying  confession  of  a 
slain  outlaw.  That  it  is  almost  invariably  demoralizing  must  be 
admitted  by  all.  It  should  not,  therefore,  be  encouraged  by  the 
laws  of  the  State  or  voluntary  organization  of  the  people.  When 
our  fair  associations  devote  the  larger  part  of  their  premiums  to 
horse-racing,  and  when  they  admmit  all  forms  of  light  gaming  to  a 
place  among  their  exhibitions,  they  do  more  to  demoralize  the 
young  and  to  impair  the  moral  integrity  of  a community  than 
they  do  to  promote  its  industrial  and  agricultural  interests. 

Again,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  Sam  Bass  was  unedu- 
cated. For  this  Texas  was  not  responsible,  for  he  was  a young 
ignoramus  thrust  upon  us  by  Indiana.  But  ignorance  is  a fruit- 
ful source  of  crime  and  costs  the  State  infinitely  more  than  educa- 
tion. We  can  never  prevent  crime  until  we1  go  back  to  the  sources 
of  intellectual  and  moral  life.  The  work  must  bs  begun  near  the 
cradle,  and  pursued  with  never  wearying  vigilance  until  the  char- 
acter is  fully  matured  and  the  mind  thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
highest  and  noblest  principles. 

In  conclusion,  one  word  to  the  young.  The  history  of  these 
robbers  is  an  appalling  argument  against  such  a life.  Their  career 
was  very  short..  They  were  driven  from  the  face  of  their  fellow- 


of  Sam  Bass 


89 


men.  Their  ill-gotten  gains  did  them  no  good.  Vengeance  came 
swift  and  terrible,  and  in  a few  days,  or  at  most  a few  short 
months,  they  were  in  bloody  graves,  or  imprisoned  at  hard  labor 
and  forever  disgraced.  Mankind  rejoiced  at  their  fall.  For  those 
who  lift  their  hands  against  law  and  order,  the  world  has  only 
condemnation  disgrace  and  death. 


To  mark  the  grave  of  that  restless  man  a simple  monument  stands 
in  the  little  town  of  Round  Rock  bearing  the  inscription 

I 


Samuel  Bass 
Born  July  21st,  1851 
Died  July  21st,  1878 

A Brave  Man  Reposes  in  Death  Here.  Why  Was  He  Not  True? 


Sam  Bass  was  true  to  his  friends  and  his  convictions,  but  what  of 
Jim  Murphy?  That  man,  hated  of  all  men,  despised  even  by  the 
rangers  whom  he  had  served,  returned  to  Denton.  Words  cannot 
express  the  supreme  contempt  and  hatred  for  the  man  (used  for 
classification  only)  who,  like  a rattlesnake,  turned  and  bit  the  one 
who  befriended  him.  A guilty  conscience  weighing  heavily  upon 
him  caused  him  to  seek  protection  from  the  sheriff  when  his  dis- 
torted imagination  led  him  to  believe  Frank  Jackson  was  lying 
around  in  the  Elm  Bottoms  waiting  for  a chance  to  kill  him.  The 
sheriff  granted  him  permission  to  take  up  his  abode  in  the  jail. 
However,  his  stay  in  his  jail  home  was  of  short  duration,  as  in  a 
few  weeks  his  ignominious  career  was  brought  to  a close  by  suicide. 


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